Harry Potter - A Different Age
by parrotboy
Summary: An AU Harry Potter story, set in a world where there are two Dark Lords - Voldemort, and Bellatrix Lestrange, each with their own desires for the wizarding world. This tells the story of Harry Potter in a world where he defeated both Dark Lords when he was a year old. How will his life change now he has to deal with two dark wizards/witches trying to return to power?
1. Prologue

Okay, so this is a completely AU Harry Potter story, with two Dark Lords - Voldemort, who is aiming to eliminate all pure-bloods, and Bellatrix Lestrange, who aims to destroy all muggles/muggle-borns. Both were at war with the rest of the Wizarding world during the first Wizarding War, and both were removed from their bodies/power by Harry Potter, after they both tried to kill him at the same time, to deal with the prophesy. This story is about Harry going through Hogwarts, and trying to deal with both Dark Lords trying to return to power and destroy everything he holds dear.

This is a completely AU story, and many canon characters have been killed off/don't exist in this world. For example, Snape was killed in the first war, the Malfoy family was eliminated and Draco was never born, and Gilderoy Lockhart never existed. Also expect many AU characters to be very important to the story.

Anyhow, time for you to read. First chapter, following this prologue should be up by tomorrow. This is intended to be a very long story, spanning all seven hogwarts years and beyond.

* * *

A man in dark robes appeared near the graveyard in Godric's Hollow, and strode towards the Potter house. He walked without pause through the piles of autumn leaves that covered the road.

As he reached the door, he could see that it had been blasted off its hinges. The man cursed. He had to be the first here. He had to mark the boy.

Stepping over the dead body on the doorstep, he walked hurriedly up the stairs, and opened the closest door, to reveal a dark-haired woman standing over a red-haired woman, who was cowering with a baby in her arms.

"Bellatrix". The man said shortly, raising his wand.

The woman spat "Tom" in response. And then there was just green.

* * *

Two days later

Minevra McGonagall carried a sleeping baby along Privet Drive as the sun was beginning to rise. This was no ordinary baby.

Silently, she cursed James and Lily – if only they had planned this better, their son wouldn't have to stay with these horrible muggles. Although it was not really their fault.

They listed several potential guardians in their joint will, and all of them were unsuitable. Sirius Black had just been arrested for murdering twelve muggles, as well as Peter Pettigrew (another listed guardian) the day after he betrayed Lily and James. Remus Lupin, he was a werewolf, and Wizarding law would never allow a werewolf to adopt a child, let alone adopt the child who just vanquished the two worst dark wizards in recent history. Plus, he had vanished the night James and Lily died. Severus Snape was dead, apparently he'd been playing all three sides of the war – he sealed his own fate. The McKinnon family was wiped out by Voldemort two months before.– Marlene McKinnon had been Lily's closest friend.

Minevra was stuck. None of the list of guardians could take the child, and the Wizarding adoption law stated that if no guardians were listed, or suitable, the child would go to its closest blood relatives. Lily's sister, and her walrus of a husband may not want him, but they had no choice.

Minevra knew she was condemning him to ten long, unhappy years. She apparated away from the street in Little Whinging.

* * *

Ten years later…

Headmaster McGonagall appeared on the same street in Surrey, in the middle of the morning.

She proceeded up the sidewalk to number 4, and knocked on the door. The door was answered by a very tall, very thin lady, with very thin lips.

"Hello, Petunia", the witch said evenly and politely. "I'm here to see Harry".

Harry Potter stepped out of the cupboard under the stairs, and looked at the elderly woman.


	2. Diagon Alley and the Station

Harry examined the elderly woman. He couldn't remember ever having a visitor before. She was tall, with hair that once was black, but now showed substantial amounts of grey. She was dressed in black, and her face was fixed in a harsh expression. She looked at him, and said "Hello, Mr Potter. I have much to tell you", and indicated towards the Dursley's sitting room.

"Now, wait just a minute! I will not…" his uncle started to say. The woman turned to face him, and raised an eyebrow slightly. Vernon Dursley, not often a man intimidated, stuttered and fell silent.

The woman led Harry into the sitting room. His aunt and uncle tried to follow them, but the woman waved her hand, and the door slammed shut.

Harry jumped. "How did you…"

He was also silenced by a single look from the woman. Harry got the impression that she was good at maintaining control.

"Hello, Harry. My name is Minevra McGonagall. I am the headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry".

Harry thought he must of misheard. "Headmistress of where, sorry?"

"I am here because you are a wizard, Harry". McGonagall continued speaking as though she hadn't heard him.

"I'm a what?"

"A wizard. Tell me, Mr Potter. Have you ever done things you can't explain? Things that just feel like magic?"

"Well…um…I grew back all my hair overnight once…And last week, I made glass disappear…and talked to a boa constrictor".

McGonagall pursed her lips slightly. She didn't know what to make of the child being a parseltongue. As a learned witch, she was not one to immediately associate the ability with dark magic. Such an ability could be hidden in a family line for centuries. But it was curious.

Over the next half an hour, she explained the basic idea of magic to Harry. At first, he appeared to not believe her, until she set herself on fire. It was a simple and harmless spell, used centuries ago, by witches being burnt at the stake. None-the-less, it impressed the child, and he accepted everything she said after that. She explained Hogwarts, the merits of each house, and how a student was sorted. She also explained the basics of the wizarding world, especially the Statute of Secrecy, and the boy did not ask questions.

She also explained about his parents, and how they were killed at the end of the First Wizarding War. She talked about Voldemort, and about Bellatrix Lestrange, and the Halloween night, 10 years ago. It was then that the boy started asking questions.

"But why did they attack me?"

McGonagall sighed. She knew she didn't know everything about this. She would have to talk to Albus.

"I don't know exactly, Harry. A lot of people have theories. Your parents fought against both of them during the war. That is the simplest reason. There may be more to it, but I don't know enough to tell you".

Harry looked down for a minute, trying to process the information. "Well…what happened? How did I survive? What happened to them?"

"Again, this is somewhat speculation", replied McGonagall. "Something about you reflected their magic back at them. We know they both tried to kill you at the same time. Bellatrix overcharged her magic, trying to kill you. You see, Harry, as school you learn how much power to put into your magic. This is so you can control it. Bellatrix put so much power into the spell that it killed the first three people who arrived on the scene, and destroyed most of the street. Even today, a trained wizard could sense the magic, and who did it, because of the amount of power left behind. While she probably survived, she would have lost the ability to do magic for a long time. It is unlikely that she has regained the ability to use magic, even now".

"What about Voldemort?" asked Harry, tentatively.

"He died. Well, his body died. His soul…it wasn't left in his body, like a normal wizard. It would have escaped, as a spirit."

McGonagall saw that the boy was starting to shut down. This was a lot of complex information, and the child hadn't even heard of magic an hour ago. "Look," she started. "This is advanced magical theory. Many people do not understand it after seven years of school. I will explain more to you when you are older, okay?"

Harry nodded; his eyes wide.

* * *

Harry landed in a pub called "the Leaky Cauldron", and would have stumbled into a table if McGonagall hadn't held him up. He had just used something called a "portkey", and he didn't like it at all. On top of all the information McGonagall had given him, his head was spinning. They were here to by school supplies.

"But ma'am…" started Harry, as she pulled him swiftly through the pub, ignoring the startled shouts from various patrons. "I don't have any money. How can I pay for things?"

McGonagall replied, telling him to relax. She pulled out her wand, and started counting the bricks on the wall. "Your parents left you plenty of money, Harry," she told him quietly, as she hit the right brick with her wand. But she didn't know if he had heard her – the brick wall had just opened to reveal Diagon Alley, and he looked stunned.

Harry followed the headmistress through the crowded streets, straining his neck to see all the shops. After visiting Gringotts, the wizard bank run by goblins, McGonagall took him to buy his school supplies. They first stopped to get a trunk. McGonagall chose a Self-Shrinking trunk for him. It would shrink down to the size of a suitcase if he asked it to. She did, however, warn him about doing it in front of non-magical people. They also visited a potions supply store, where he purchased a copper cauldron, and the potion ingredients on his school list. After this, they visited a store called "Flourish and Blotts", where he purchased his school books, and a few books on magical society. They went to stores that sold writing supplies, school robes and casual clothes, and various other items he would use at school. After stopping by at Olivanders, where he purchased a wand (a very strange experience), and a wrist-holster for his wand, they had everything on his school list. On top of this, the headmistress had suggested he purchase an owl. He had chosen a beautiful snowy owl, with bright blue eyes.

* * *

Harry stepped out of the car at Kings Cross station, and walked towards platform nine. He didn't really believe he could find platform 9 and ¾. It didn't exist, he knew that. Since the McGonagall woman had shown up, his life had turned upside down.

He was a wizard! He would think it was just joke dreamed up by the Durselys, but creating Diagon Alley was a bit far, even for them. Plus, there was McGonagall setting herself on fire. He didn't think the Dursleys could make that just happen. And then there was goblins, his school robes, his strange textbooks, his wand, his o…

Harry was plucked from his thoughts by the voice of a loud woman.

"Packed with Muggles, of course. It's the same every year. They never notice, but still…"

Harry spun on the spot, and caught sight of an absurdly dressed woman with black hair, walking quickly in the same direction as Harry. She had a girl around Harrys' age, and a boy of about 15 or 16 in tow. The lady stopped at the brick wall between platforms 9 and 10, and began talking quietly to the young girl.

Plucking his courage, Harry pushed his trolley over to the woman.

"Excuse me….Excuse me! I was…I was wondering…."

"You were wondering how to get onto the platform?" Asked the woman, knowingly. "First year at Hogwarts? It's Fay's first year too." The woman motioned towards the girl, who gave a small smile.

"It's really simple. See the wall there?" The woman montioned towards the large, brick barrier between platforms 9 and 10. "If you walk towards it, like you're going to crash into it, you'll find yourself on platform 9 ¾".

"Oh….okay," replied Harry, hesitantly. He didn't quite know what the woman meant.

"Here, watch Tobias go through." The older boy walked towards the brick barrier without a word, and vanished. Harry flinched. The wall certainly looked solid.

Despite watching the older boy pass through, Harry was still hesitant. Why should the apparently solid barrier yield for him?

"Still nervous? That's perfectly normal," commented the woman. "Why don't you go through the barrier with Fay?"

Harry glanced at the young girl, who had still not said a word. The girl nodded slightly, and the two eleven-year-olds began to walk towards the barrier. Harry closed his eyes. He didn't notice, but the girl, Fay, had done the same thing. Suddenly aware that he should have already hit the wall, Harry opened his eyes.

There before him was a steam train, with several carriages. There were people all around him, and most were dressed peculiarly. Harry let out the breath he didn't know he was holding, and looked at Fay, feeling relieved. Her mother bustled through a minute later, and started pulling them towards the train.

"Hurry up!" she cried, walking forward. "You're going to miss it".

After shoving them through a carriage door, and bidding a quick goodbye, she stepped back onto the platform as a horn sounded. Seconds later, the doors had closed, and the train was pulling away.

Harry and the girl took a seat in the empty compartment they found themselves in.

"By the way, I'm Fay. Fay Dunbar" said the girl, extending her hand.

"Harry. Harry Potter" replied Harry, shaking her hand.

Fays' eyebrows rose slightly.

* * *

Professor McGonagall sat at her desk, and started sorting through paperwork. It took her five minutes to realise that she hadn't actually read any of it. It was midday, on the first of September. In a few hours time, all the students would arrive, and she would be a whole lot busier.

Her fireplace was behind her, and without warning, it flared up, and a figure stepped out of it.

"Hello, Albus", she said, without looking around. She had been expecting a visit from the Minister of Magic for a few weeks now.

"Minevra", he replied. "He's coming today, isn't he?"

McGonagall knew this wasn't a question. "I took him his letter a month ago".

"What does he know?"

"A lot," McGonagall replied. "As much as I could explain to him at the time".

"Is that wise? He is just a child." Albus Dumbledore looked worried.

"Keeping him in the dark will not help him, Albus".

"Have you reconsidered the Flamel's request?"

McGonagall sighed. Albus would not let this drop. "Albus, my answer remains the same. This is a school, and I will not risk the students. They have looked after it for 600 years, I believe they are more than capable".

The fire crackled ominously.

* * *

A/N - So, Hogwarts starts soon. I deliberately left the whole Diagon Alley/returning to the Dursleys thing short, because, honestly, everyone has heard it before. It made me bored to write it, and it'd probably make you bored to read it.

Anyway, the next chapter, "the Train Ride and the Sorting" is now underway. This is where it stops being "slightly AU", and starts being "Completely AU". Should be up in a few days


	3. The Train Ride and the Sorting

Chapter Two: The Train Ride and the Sorting

Albus Dumbledore stepped out of the fireplace, and entered his office at the Ministry of Magic. He found himself wishing, not for the first time, that he had accepted the offer to become Headmaster of Hogwarts all those years ago. At the time, all of Europe had been recovering after the fall of Gellert Grindlewald, and the Wizengamot had practically begged him to take the top job, and put magical Britain back together. How could he refuse?

He didn't intend to keep the job for a long time. Just enough to fix the problems and destruction, and then he planned on retiring. But just as the Wizarding world was getting back to normal, the Black Widow struck – Bellatrix Lestrange and her Death Eaters started killing Muggles and Muggle-borns with reckless abandon. Shortly after that, Voldemort and his followers, known as the Lampades, had started slaughtering pure-blood families. There was war again.

There had been no action from either side since that Halloween night, ten years ago. But Dumbledore knew that neither leader was gone for good. It was only a matter of time. He couldn't abandon the Wizarding world while that threat remained.

Adding to his stress, he was the only living person who knew the full prophecy, and even he didn't know who it referred too. Harry Potter would be the one to vanquish the "dark lord". This he knew. The problem was, he didn't know which "dark lord" it was. Both Riddle and Lestrange knew the first two lines of the prophecy (courtesy of their spies), and each believed it referred to them. And nobody knew which one had "marked" the child. The magic that happened that night was unprecedented, and that scar could have come from either "dark lord".

He had to get close to the Potter child, and help him fulfil the prophecy, but Minevera was being unusually protective, even for her. Fawkes landed on his shoulder, and started rubbing the Minister for Magic's cheek. When he didn't respond, Fawkes trilled sweetly, and nipped his cheek with his beak. Dumbledore jumped, and looked at the magical bird quizzically. The avian expression he received made him chuckle. The phoenix always knew how to cheer him up.

* * *

At the same time, on the Hogwarts Express.

Fay hadn't really reacted when he told her his name. Apart from a slight eyebrow raise, she didn't change her expression, nor the way she spoke to him; Harry was grateful. While McGonagall had had explained that he was famous, and she certainly hadn't left him time to socialise with the crowd at the Leaky Cauldron, several people had tried to introduce themselves to him, and he had heard the crowd whispering excitedly. It made him uncomfortable. It wasn't that he didn't like meeting new people – quite the opposite, in fact – he was just uncomfortable with being famous for something he'd only just been told about. He couldn't even remember it, and it felt undeserved.

"So…" began Fay, wondering how to phrase her question. "Umm… How were you raised?"

Harry grinned at the formality of the question before replying. "I was raised by Muggles. By my aunt and her husband. They um…they don't exactly like magic". Harry paused for a moment, before continuing. "What do your parents do?"

"My mother is an Auror," Fay replied. When she caught site of the confused look on his face, she elaborated: "a dark wizard catcher. Sort of like a policeman". Harry nodded, enthralled – he was genuinely interested in what magical people did after school. "My father," continued Fay, sensing his interest, "he works as a potion maker for Saint Mungos".

"Saint Mungos?"

"Saint Mungos is a Wizarding Hospital in London – one of the best known hospitals in Europe".

"Ah, okay…" replied Harry quietly. He felt like his lack of knowledge of the Wizarding world was already holding him back.

Fay seemed to sense it. "Not to worry," she said, reassuringly. "All of the Muggleborn students will be as confused as you – and everyone else won't be that far ahead".

Fay knew she had said the right thing when Harry broke into a smile – the first smile she had seen him make. They chatted away for a long time, with Fay doing a majority of the talking. She was rather outgoing, while Harry was a bit more reserved. Never-the-less, they were getting on rather well. Harry was rather surprised – after years of Dudley chasing away people who tried to befriend him, he seemed to be making a friend.

"So," Harry started, after a while. "What house do you think you'll be in?"

Fay thought for a minute, and then replied with "I don't know. My mum was a Ravenclaw, and my dad was a Slytherin, but all his family is from Gyffindor. My brother is a Ravenclaw, but I don't know…"

The rest of her reply was cut off by the sound of the compartment door opening. Two boys with red hair (who looked so similar that that had to be identical twins) walked in, followed by a tall, black girl, who looked exasperated.

"You're Harry Potter!" The two twins said this at the exact same time. "We had to find you," continued both twins in a strange dual monotone.

"I'm Gred", continued one of the twins.

"And I'm Forge" followed the other, grinning manically.

Fay and Harry introduced themselves. As Harry said his name, one of the twins said "We know!"

"We just told you that!" finished the other.

The girl behind them sighed, and said "don't mind them. They're always like this. You'll get used to it. I'm Angelina".

"So," said a twin. "We'll be expecting…"

"…you in Gyffindor", finished the other.

Fay and Harry glanced at each other, and Fay said "You know, that's getting…"

"…really annoying!" Interrupted both of the twins, and cracked identical grins.

Harry laughed, and was subsequently glared at by Fay.

The twins (Fred and George) and Angelina, took over the seats opposite them, and the rather unusual conversation continued for well over an hour. The Weasley twins did not appear able to maintain any level of seriousness, while Angelina tried to keep them in line, and she turned out to have a very sarcastic sense of humour. All three were Gryffindors, and starting their third year of school. Harry pestered them for details about the magical school, but soon realised that he couldn't take half of what he was told as the truth. When he asked about how students were sorted, one of the twins (possibly Fred), mentioned something about wrestling a troll. Angelina laughed, and told them to "aim for eyes".

The twins seemed to constantly switch names – "Fred" would start answering to "George" after a while of being "Fred". In addition to their tendency to finish each others sentences, the conversation was rather amusing, but hard to follow. All were members of the Gryffindor _Quidditch_ team. Harry, having read about the Wizarding sport, started picking their brains about how it worked. Fred and George were rather laid-back about it, but Angelina was fairly fanatical.

When Harry started asking about Quidditch, Fay groaned, and muttered something which sounded like "boys…"

This was heard by Angelina, who leapt across the compartment, and started poking her in vulnerable places on her sides. Fay writhed around and tried to escape, before begging mercy from the older girl. Recovering, she noticed the boys all laughing at her. She stuck her tongue out at the twins, and then turned to Harry, who tried to hide his laughter as a coughing fit. Fay stuck her finger between his ribs, and began to continue the same assault that she had just received.

Thankfully, Harry was saved by the appearance of a short old lady, pushing a cart full of food and confectionary that Harry didn't recognise. "Anything from the trolley, dears?" she asked, and all five people in the carriage froze, and turned towards the food.

Harry noticed Fred and George glance at each other awkwardly. From the conversations that had taken place before, Harry had gathered that their family was fairly poor. And that probably wasn't helped by the twins having three older siblings, and two younger siblings set to start Hogwarts the next year. Angelina looked at them sympathetically, and shook her head. Harry glanced at Fay, who shrugged.

"We'll take some of everything, enough for all of us", Harry said, and paid the lady. The lady started handing out shiny boxes to everyone, which essentially filled the empty seat in the compartment. While Fay and Angelina simply thanked him, Fred and George told him that they "owed him", to which Harry shook his head, and told them not to worry about it. What followed can only be described as a "massacre of chocolate", as two people of eleven, and three people of thirteen, ripped into the confectionary with reckless abandon.

Harry marvelled at the chocolate frogs, which acted like live frogs. However, he was the subject of much laughter when the first frog he opened jumped out of his hands, and flew out the window. Harry grabbed a box labelled "Bertie Botts Every Flavoured Beans", and Fay grabbed his arm.

"You want to be careful with these. When they say every flavour, they mean every flavour," she warned him

"You get all the regular flavours, like chocolate, peppermint and marmalade," continued Angelina. "But you can also get spinach, liver and tripe".

"I once got a bogey flavoured one," said one of the twins (who Harry thought was George).

Harry grimaced, and passed the box to Fay. "You can go first" he said with a grimace.

"Coward!" she said, opening the box and taking a bean. "Eurgh. Broccoli", and passed the box back to Harry.

Harry gingerly took a bean, and ate it. "Vanilla!" he exclaimed, and then grinned at Fay when she scowled at him, before passing the box to Fred.

Fred coughed when he ate his. "Coffee," he said, as way of explanation. They started passing the box around, each person taking one in turn, and comparing the flavours. Harry got cheese, roast chicken and dirt. Angelina said she had one the tasted of blood.

They were interrupted from their taste-test game by the arrival of a tiny Chinese girl.

"Hey. I'm Su. Can I join you?" She asked, cautiously. "Everywhere else is full."

Harry glanced at Fay, with a confused expression on his face – they had been underway for several hours now, where had she been before then? Harry nodded, and she took the only remaining seat, and sat next to Harry. Harry offered her the box of Every Flavoured Beans, and she took one and ate it silently. She then passed the box across to Angelina without a word. The game of "pass the box of Every Flavour Beans" continued, with each person commenting on each flavour. While Su took a bean each round, she didn't comment on it, and just quickly passed the box onto Angelina. Her silence was uncomfortable to begin with, but quickly became accepted. Harry assumed that she was simply shy, like he was.

Before long, the box of Every Flavour Beans had finished, and they broke off into conversation. Fred and George put their heads together, and talked about blowing up a toilet – an idea apparently suggested by their mother. Angelina and Fay quickly started a conversation about Transfiguration. It was really less a conversation, and more an inquisition. Fay, as it turned out, was desperately interested in the subject, and was shooting questions swiftly at Angelina.

Harry was left talking to Su. He quickly realised that she wasn't exactly shy – she just preferred to sit back and listen to people, only saying what needed to be said. Harry found himself telling her far more about the Dursleys, and about himself than he had told Fay and the others. When he pressed her, she told him more about herself. While both her parents were magical, they moved to Britain when she was six. She spoke with a somewhat posh British accent, although both her parents had poor English skills. He quizzed her on her parent's education, because the only magical school he had heard about was Hogwarts. Her parents were schooled in China, at the Moshu Mofa School of Magic. Their conversations were interrupted, again, by the arrival of three more people.

The one in the middle looked a bit like a shrew. He had a long, pointed face, and rather small eyes. The two others, who flanked him, looked more like gorillas. They matched the (rather tall) Weasley twins in height, and matched Dudley in girth. Their faces looked rather flat. The shrew-faced boy examined the inhabitants of the compartment with distaste. Harry instantly did not like the boy.

"Harry Potter," he said, in a nasally voice. "My name is Theodore Nott. This is Crabbe, and Goyle" he continued, motioning to the boys at his shoulders. If either boy actually heard their name being mentioned, they gave no indication of it. "You'll soon discover that some wizards are better than others. I can help you out there," he continued, raising his hand to shake Harry's hand". As he spoke, his eyes circled the room. He seemed to find all of the inhabitants to be distasteful.

"I think I can work out the wrong sort on my own, thankyou," replied Harry, ignoring his hand.

With that, one of the Weasley twins drew his want, and flicked it. Harry didn't know what he did, but all three of the boys were pushed out of the compartment, and the door slammed shut behind them. "Git!" said the same Weasley twin.

"What was his problem?" Harry asked, somewhat confused. That was the first truly negative encounter he had experienced in the Wizarding world.

"Harry…his father was one of Bellatrix Lestrange's most fanatical followers. My father caught him, but he paid his way out of trouble," explained Fay, carefully. "He probably has the same mentality as his father".

Harry had heard all about Bellatrix Lestrange from Professor McGonagall, but he still couldn't properly understand the "pureblood" mentality. "But…" he began, hesitantly. "… all of you aren't…you know…muggle-born…"

Angelina laughed, and said "it doesn't matter, Harry! He'll hate me, because of the colour of my skin!"

"And us because our family doesn't agree with his views!" said both Weasley twins, simultaneously.

"And me, because of my dad," answered Fay.

Harry looked at Su, who shrugged, and gave him a meaningful look, which he took to mean "and me, because I'm Chinese".

"But…none of that matters!" said Harry, confused. "You're all good people!"

The Weasley twins chuckled, while Angelina launched across the compartment and hugged him. Harry was slightly taken aback, and only returned the hug half-heartedly. He looked at Su over her shoulder, and she gave him a smile.

"At least your priorities are straight, Harry," said Fay with a smile as Angelina released him.

Whatever she was about to say next was interrupted by yet another visitor. She had big, bushy hair, large eyes and rather large front teeth – making her look somewhat like a startled squirrel. "Have any of you seen a toad?" she started, confidently. "A boy called Neville has lost one".

"Not at all, sweet lady" began one of the Weasley twins.

"No toads here, my dear," rhymed the other twin.

Harry shot them a look that said "play nice". He was rewarded by two redheads pulling bizarre faces at him.

"Well, thanks anyway," replied the newcomer, without noticing the twins, before walking away.

"Come on Harry!" started one of the twins.

"Let us have a bit of fun!"

Harry stuck his tongue out at the pair of them, and started talking to Su again. This time, Fay joined the conversation as well. However, the conversation was cut short, as they were interrupted yet again. This time, it was by a tall red-headed boy with glasses, who looked somewhat like the twins.

"Hey Perce!" one of the twins exclaimed

"Mr Prefect!" said the other, in feigned excitement.

"Perce" ignored them completely. "We're almost at Hogwarts". He said, seriously. "You should get changed into your school robes." With that, he left. He ignored the sloppy salute given to him by the twins.

"Our brother, Percy," explained Fred.

"We like to pretend he's adopted," said George.

"It'd be believable if he didn't have our hair!" complained Fred.

"Anyway," said Angelina, interrupting the twins before they got out of hand. "We should all get changed".

They all changed into their black Hogwarts robes quietly. Harry reflected on the train ride as he pulled on his unfamiliar robes. Seven hours ago, he didn't have any friends. Now, he had Fay – who was a lot of fun, and Su, who really seemed to understand him, even if she didn't talk much. He also had the three older students – he assumed they were friends, because they invited themselves into his compartment, and stuck there the entire train ride. Perhaps Hogwarts would be far better than he had thought. He was plucked from his pondering by Su, who pinched him on the arm and gave him a significant look.

"You okay there, Potter?" George asked in faux concern.

"You've been sitting there without a shirt for five minutes now," said Fay, laughing. Fred looked at her, outraged, before breaking into a grin – she had, after all, stolen his place in finishing his brother's sentence.

Harry blushed, and pulled his robes over his head, as the Hogwarts Express slowed to a halt.

He went to grab his trunk, but was stopped by Angelina, who told him to leave it there. The six youngsters left the carriage and stepped onto Hogsmeade Station. The three older students waved goodbye to the eleven year olds, and headed through the school gates. Harry, Fay and Su were slightly lost, until they heard a deep voice echoing over the platform.

"Firs'-years, ov'r here! Firs'-years, ov'r here!" The voice came from a figure that toward over the other people on the station, and was holding a massive lantern.

The three first years made their way over to the huge figure, and felt slightly apprehensive. The figure was a man, but he was about twice the size of a normal man. He looked at them, and his eyes halted slowly when they reached Harry.

"Heya, Harry!" the giant boomed, grinning.

"Umm, hey…" Harry replied, nervously. He hadn't ever met the huge man in his life.

"Firs'-years, ov'r here!" the man cried again.

Eventually, all the older students had filed through the school gates.

"Right. My name's Rubeus Hagrid," said the large man, in his booming voice. "I am the Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. My job is teh bring you to the feast".

"I can't believe they allow this half-breed around children" whispered someone in a nasally voice. It was loud enough for the large group of children to hear. Harry looked around, and saw it was the shrew-faced boy from the train who had spoken. The man, Hagrid, looked around, and looked momentarily disheartened and angry.

However, he then said "Please follow me". The man strode through the school gates, and turned left. In front of them was a huge lake, and beyond that, a castle. Directly in front of them was a pier, with several small rowboats tied to it.

"A'right," said Hagrid, leading the first years onto the pier. "No more th'n four teh a boat". As he was speaking he clambered onto a boat, taking up the entire boat himself. Harry, Fay and Su climbed aboard a boat, followed by a slightly chubby boy, who introduced himself as Neville Longbottom. He was clutching an abnormally large toad. Harry assumed he was the one who had lost a toad on the train.

"I see you found your toad," said Harry with a smile. The boy looked taken aback, but nodded. Su tugged on his arm, and whispered something in his ear. Harry glanced at her, before passing on her message. "Is the toad magical at all? He looks bigger than normal".

"Yeah," said the boy nervously. "I've no idea what his powers are, though," he continued with a chuckle, to which Harry and Fay laughed, and Su smirked. It was then that the boat unhooked itself from the pier, and started rowing itself across the lake. The journey across the lake was slightly awkward. Su only seemed comfortable talking to Harry, and to Fay somewhat, and Neville seemed nervous about talking to all of them. Harry was quiet and still trying to process the day, and Fay was outgoing enough to make them all slightly uncomfortable. Therefore, the trip was uneventful. Thankfully, it wasn't long before the boats made their way into a cave, and then tied themselves to a pier inside the cave.

Hagrid led them out of the boats, and up a long set of stairs, and into a large entrance hall which appeared to be made mostly of marble. Hagrid led them across the entrance hall, and into a small ante-chamber. They found themselves looking at a younger woman, whose face was covered in scars.

Firs'-years for yeh, Professor Tenebris," said Hagrid, respectfully.

"Thankyou Hagrid," replied the lady, nodding at him. Hagrid exited through a door on the right of the chamber.

"Right," said the lady, shortly. "My name is Professor Tenebris. I will be your Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. I am also the Deputy Headmistress."

She gave Harry the distinct impression that she was not one to be crossed. Whilst Headmaster McGonagall had appeared strict when he met her, this teacher seemed strict on a whole new level. She appeared to be borderline hostile.

"In a moment, you will be sorted into your houses," continued Professor Tenebris. "While you are at Hogwarts, your house will be like your family. It will also be where you live and sleep. Achievements will grant you housepoints. Rule-breaking will see them deducted. I shall come to get you shortly for the Sorting. I suggest you make yourselves look good." With that, the Deputy Headmistress left the students, and exited out of the same door that Hagrid had.

Harry tried, in a futile attempt, to flatten his hair. He watched as Fay pulled her long, black hair into a ponytail, and Theodore Nott straightened his robes. The bushy-haired girl who had asked about Neville's toad was visibly shaking, while Neville himself was wiping dirt from his toad. Su just stood there, in a world of her own.

They were interrupted from their preening session by the appearance of several ghosts. Several students, including Harry, jumped. While he had read about ghosts in one of his books, he was not ready for about 20 of them to suddenly appear through the wall. Almost all the ghosts paid them no attention, and floated through the other wall. However, one ghost – the ghost of a tall, thin lady, who looked around 25 – locked her eyes onto him, and did not look away until she vanished into the wall. Harry felt rather unnerved.

"Okay, please follow me!" came the voice of Professor Tenebris, who had appeared at the door.

They followed her out the door on the right of the chamber, and into a big hall. It had four long tables, each full of students, running length-ways along the hall. It also had a table which ran the other way, full of adults. This table was raised above the rest, and Harry assumed it was a table for the teachers.

Professor Tenebris led them to a stool, which was in front of the raised table. Harry tried to ignore the hundreds of students staring at them.

"When I call your name," began Professor Tenebris, "please step forward, and sit on the stool. I will then place the Sorting Hat on your head, and it will decide on your house".

"Abbott, Hannah!"

A blonde girl left the bunch of first-years, looking nervous. The Sorting Hat – a wizard hat that looked several centuries old – was placed on her head, where it remained for about ten seconds, before shouting "HUFFLEPUFF!" The girl handed the hat back to the Deputy Headmistress, and ran over to join the Hufflepuff table.

"Bones, Susan". A small, red-haired girl left the group next, and followed Hannah Abbott to Hufflepuff.

A boy called Terry Boot was next, and was sorted into Ravenclaw, while "Brown, Lavender" was put in Gryffindor. "Brocklehurst, Mandy" was then called, and the hat took several minutes to decide, before placing her in Ravenclaw.

"Bulstrode, Millicent!" called out Professor Tenebris. A very large girl left the pack of first years. She was at least two feet taller than Harry, and he knew she'd tower over most adults.

Fay nudged him, and pointed at the tall girl. "I'll bet she's a half-giant!" she exclaimed, excitedly. Harry grimaced, and nodded. He'd read about giants in his Defence Against the Dark Arts book, but he hadn't read about half-giants. This girl was abnormally large, however.

She became the first person sorted into Slytherin. She was followed by "Caxton, Poppy", who was sorted into Hufflepuff, and "Corner, Michael", who became a Ravenclaw.

"Crabbe, Vincent!" One of the large, gorilla-like boys from the train walked forward, and instantly became a Slytherin. He was quickly followed by "Davis Tracey".

"Dunbar, Fay!"

Harry squeezed her shoulder, and Fay made her way confidently towards the stool. A few seconds later, the hat cried "Gryffindor!"

"Dunn, Craig!"

"Hufflepuff!"

"Eggmore, Andrew!"

"Ravenclaw!"

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"Hufflepuff!"

"Finnegan, Seamus!"

"Gyffindor!"

"Gerad, Ethan!"

"Gryffindor!"

"Goldstein, Anthony!"

"Ravenclaw!"

"Granger, Hermione!" It was the bushy-haired girl who had been looking for the toad.

"Gryffindor!"

"Goyle, Gregory!" This was the other gorilla-boy from the train. He was quickly placed into Slytherin as well. He was followed into Slytherin house by "Greengrass, Daphne!"

"Hopkins, Wayne!" and "Jones, Megan!" both ended up in Hufflepuff.

"Li, Su!"

Su looked at Harry, with a terrified expression on her face. Harry smiled sympathetically, and motioned his head towards Professor Tenebris. Su appeared to gather herself, and then strode towards the older woman. Su was easily the smallest first year in the group, and the Sorting Hat fell over her entire head. It stood there for several moments, before it shouted "Gryffindor!" Su, looking delighted, made her way over to the Gryffindor table

She was followed by "Longbottom, Neville." The boy with the unusually large toad. The Sorting Hat took the longest time yet to decide his house, before placing him in Hufflepuff.

"MacDougal, Morag!"

"Ravenclaw!"

"MacMillan, Ernie!"

"Hufflepuff!"

"Nott, Theodore!"

It was the turn of the shrew faced boy from the train. The hat hadn't even touched his head, and it yelled "Slytherin! He was followed by "Parkinson, Pansy," and Harry sighed. He felt his nerves rising. It was almost his turn.

He waited as "Parks, Ryan" and "Patil, Padma" were put in Ravenclaw, and "Patil, Pavarti" was put in Gryffindor. When "Perks, Sally-Anne" was called, Harry swore under his breath. How many people could possibly have a last name that began with "P"! When Sally-Anne was put in Ravenclaw, he finally heard his name.

"Potter, Harry". He was aware that the hubbub of the students suddenly died down. He was brutally aware of having all eyes on him. He took a deep breath, and strode towards the Sorting Hat.

As the Hat was placed on his head, he felt an unusual voice inside his head.

"Ah, Mr Potter. I was wondering when I was going to read you. But where to place you?"

"Not Slytherin, Not Slytherin!" thought Harry, quickly. He did not want to share a house with Theodore Nott.

"Not Slytherin, aye?" asked the hat. "You could be great, you know. Slytherin could help you on your way to greatness!"

Harry sighed, and mentally asked to be put in Gryffindor. His first friends were in Gryffindor.

"In Gryffindor? True, you have bravery. But I also feel loyalty, and ambition, and the potential to be smart. But if your sure?" Harry nodded. "Well in that case," said the Sorting Hat, "better be GRYFFINDOR!" Harry jumped up and made his way over to the Gyrffindor table, where he sat between Fay and Su, and across from Percy, the red-haired boy with glasses, who had told them to put their robes on, when they were on the train. He then applauded politely as "Pucey, Simon", and "Thomas, Dean", were both sorted into Gryffindor.

"Tring, Jessica" became a Hufflepuff, while "Turpin, Lisa", became a Ravenclaw.

The sorting was ended as the last two students, "Yaxley, Aeron", and "Zabini, Blaise" were sorted into Slytherin. Professor Tenebris rolled up the parchment that she had been reading from, and sat down at the teacher's table.

As she sat, Professor McGonagall rose, and began to speak. "Hello, and to most of you, welcome back! To those who do not know, I am Headmistress McGonagall. To all the new students: welcome to Hogwarts! You will all receive your timetables at breakfast tomorrow".

"Now, I must remind you that the ForbiddenForest is, as its name suggests, forbidden. I advise you all to stay away from there, unless you wish to die a most painful death." Harry wasn't sure, but he thought the stern woman smiled briefly when she said this. "Mr Filch would like to remind all students that magic is prohibited in the corridors. But for now, let us enjoy the Welcome Feast. Tuck in!"

At her last words, food of all descriptions appeared on the plates in front of them. Harry, unused to so much variety, dug in slowly, but viciously, before looking around. Su was slowly eating a pork chop, and seemed to be pondering the implications of what she was doing. Fay, on the other hand, had abandoned her food, to talk to the "ghost of Gryffindor tower".

"Nearly Headless? How can you be Nearly Headless?!" She asked him, loudly.

"Like this!" replied the ghost, grabbing his head, and tipping it, like one would tip a hat. In doing so, he exposed about 95% of the inside of his neck, with just a little bit of skin attaching it to his body.

"Wicked!" cried Fay – not a sentiment that was shared by the rest of the first years. Many of them looked slightly sick. Fred and George, however, had broken into identical grins, while Angelina was shaking her head at two girls who were about her age.

Looking around at the other tables, his eyes latched onto the Ravenclaw table. The same ghost that had stared at him before was sitting halfway along it, and was still staring at him, constantly. Feeling unnerved, Harry glanced at the staff table. A short, round woman was talking animatedly to an even shorter man, with pointed ears.

Harry couldn't help but stare. The man was even shorter than Su! Sitting next to her were two women and a man, each of whom looked like the could be a teacher back at his MuggleSchool. Next to them was a woman who was dressed in what could only be the Wizarding equivalent of a medical outfit. Beside her was Professor Tenebris, who was sitting next to the Headmistress. She sat in the middle of the table.

On her right sat a young woman, probably in her early twenties, deep in conversation with a hunchbacked man, who looked rundown. Beside them, taking up three seats, was Hagrid, and next to him was a man who didn't appear to have any arms – one was missing completely, and one had been cut off at the elbow. None the less, he was eating – with his fork and spoon moving by themselves. There were even more teachers sitting beside them. Harry glanced back at the young woman on McGonagall's right. She looked up at him, and gave him a wink, and a goofy grin. Harry felt a twinge run through his head, and most of his body. It caused him to jump.

Fay looked at him teasingly, while Su looked rather concerned. Shaking his head at her, he attracted the attention of Percy, across the table.

"Percy…who's that next to Professor McGonagall?" Harry asked

"Professor Sinistra – she's the astronomy teacher" replied Percy, formally. "She's talking to Professor Nubit – he's the potionmaster here".

Harry nodded, rubbing his scar. He looked back across at Professor Sinistra, who gave him another friendly smile – she seemed nice – and nowhere near as strict as McGonagall or Tenebris. He looked back, and realised Su was still looking at him, concerned.

He smiled, feeling self-conscious, and went back to his dinner. Throughout his meal, he noticed Su casting worried glances his way. He was also aware of the ghost sitting at Ravenclaw table – she still had not stopped staring at him. Whenever he looked at the staff table, he got friendly smiles from Sinistra and Hagrid – and once – he was almost sure of it – from McGonagall.

Before long the meal had ended, and they had been dismissed. Percy, as their prefect, quickly called over all the first year Gryffindors. He seemed to ignore his female counterpart. He led them quickly out of the hall, and started herding them up staircases. Harry was content with hanging in the middle of the group, and following the leader.

However, Su grabbed his shirt, and pulled him to the back of the group. She then pulled him down to her level, so she could whisper in his ear.

"So what happened with your scar at dinner?" she asked, not wasting any time. In the short time he had known her, Harry had realised that she was very perceptive, and only generally only spoke much when it was important.

"It just twinged a bit," replied Harry. "It was a bit uncomfortable".

"When you were looking at the staff table?" she asked, carefully. Harry nodded in reply.

"Does it often do that?" She asked, looking at him intently.

"Sometimes. Not often, really, but sometimes," replied Harry. "Why?"

At this, she simply shrugged, and remained silent for a while. She then started asking about Professor McGonagall.

Before long, however, they had arrived at a portrait of a rather large lady. Harry thought she looked rather like Dawn French, but didn't think many of his classmates would know who she was.

"This is the Fat Lady," said Percy, in his ever-serious tone. "She guards the entrance to the Gryffindor common room." The Fat Lady looked slightly exasperated at his formal tone, but waved at all the first years.

"The password is Caput Draconis," said Percy, and hearing the words, the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open, to reveal a staircase.

"This is the Gryffindor common room," said Percy, as they reached the top of the stairs. "This is where you can study and relax with other members of Gryffindor. But you are forbidden from sharing the password with members of other houses."

"But we want you to get to know people from all houses, and have fun," said the female prefect, who had just caught them up. She looked to be Percy's age, but she had black hair, and was rather pretty. Harry got the idea that she was sick of Percy's formality. "Girls dormitories are on the right, and boys dormitories are on the left – I advise the boys to try and stick to their own dormitory – unless they like being thoroughly embarrassed!" she continued with a smile.

"Yes, thankyo…" Percy tried to continue, but the girl spoke over him.

"If you need any help settling in, come see me or Percy here. But I suggest you go to your dormitories and try to get settled in, and get an early night. You don't want to miss class tomorrow!" she finished.

Harry said goodnight to Fay and Su as the first years dispersed, and followed the rest of the first year boys up to their dormitory. He chanced a look back, and saw Percy turn on the female prefect, his face was bright red with indignation. The female prefect saw him looking, and winked, before saying something he couldn't hear to Percy. Whatever it was seemed to annoy him further, and he strode away. Harry grinned at the female prefect, and continued upstairs.

The other boys had already found their beds – each bed had a nametag on it. Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan were next to each other, and seemed to be firm friends already – they were in a heated discussion about the Muggle football poster that Dean had just put up. Harry chuckled when Seamus tried to make the picture move.

Simon Pucey was in the middle bed, and he didn't seem to want to talk to anyone – he had drawn the curtains on his bed, and Harry could see him unpacking inside.

Next to Simon was a boy called Ethan, who Harry remembered from the Sorting. His bed was next to Ethan's. Harry started unpacking, and grinned at Ethan. Ethan walked over and shook his hand.

"Ethan," he said, as a method of introduction.

"Harry," replied Harry with a smile.

"It's okay, I won't gawk," replied Ethan with smirk, chuckling at Harry's relieved expression.

"S'okay," continued Ethan. "Didn't know about you, or magic, until a few months ago. My mum's a Muggle. My dad's a wizard. But he didn't tell her until I got my Hogwarts letter a month ago. Think he wanted a normal life, and I sorta ruined it".

Ethan had a massive grin on his face, which told Harry he didn't mind it. Harry laughed at Ethan's impression of his dad trying to explain magic to his mum. "I didn't know about magic until a month ago, either".

"Oh yeah? One would think the Harry Potter would know everything," replied Ethan. Harry felt himself close off slightly, and looked at Ethan with an annoyed look in his eyes, before he saw Ethan laughing at him. Harry scowled, but it was quickly destroyed by Ethan's impression of him being annoyed.

Harry chucked a stray pair of socks at him, for which he received a stupid look in return.

Laughing, Harry said "I'll have to introduce you to the Weasley twins. You'd get along".

Their conversation continued for a while. Harry looked around the dormitory. Seamus and Dean were still involved in their argument about football. Seamus was trying to explain the virtues of Quidditch, while Dean was shouting about Football and the offside rule. Simon Pucey had disappeared from sight altogether, hiding behind his bed curtains.

Ethan had continued to good-naturedly tease Harry, until he started throwing it back, just as much. Their rather fun argument drew to an abrupt halt when Seamus and Dean's football vs Quidditch argument had reached a new height. Dean had produced a soccer ball from somewhere, and they were throwing it at each other with malicious intent. It didn't take long for Harry and Ethan to be drawn into the fray.

Someone (and Harry was relatively certain that Ethan was that someone) was duplicating the ball, so everyone always had something to throw. The soccer-ball-battle was rapidly getting out of hand.

It didn't take long for Percy to storm in, looking furious – drawn by the sound of four eleven-year-olds shouting and laughing. When he walked in, all four of them froze where they were, each holding a white ball in each hand.

"That's enough!" he shouted, looking furious. "Each of you into bed, now!"

All four of the boys looked at each other, grinning guilty. Somehow, they all thought the same thing. Dean nodded slowly. All of a sudden, Percy was assaulted by several white balls, causing him to retreat out of the dormitory.

It wasn't long before they decided to call it a night – not wanting to push their luck any further. They all climbed, laughing, into bed.

Harry grinned as he looked at the ceiling. It had been a good day.


	4. The First Day of School

**A/N - Alrightly, a lot of this chapter is introducing new teachers/expanding teachers that only get a passing mention in the Canon, as well as expanding the positive and negative relationships so far. The story will begin to pick up a bit more speed next chapter.**

* * *

Harry woke before the rest of the boys in his dorm – he was far too excited to stay in bed. He showered, and then went back to get his things. Dean and Seamus were slowly crawling out of bed, groaning. Simon had disappeared. Ethan was snoring, his mouth slightly open. Harry threw a leftover ball at him, and left the dorm.

Heading down the stairs, he found Su was waiting for him. The tiny Asian girl muttered something about Fay being "unwakeable", so they left for breakfast.

Despite being held up by a moving staircase, they were first years at Gryffindor table when they arrived in the Great Hall. Most older students, and half the teachers also hadn't showed up – it was still over an hour before class started. Looking around for other first years, he could only spot the hulking figure of Millicent Bulstrode at the Slytherin table, and Neville, who appeared to have fallen asleep with his face in a plate of eggs at the Hufflepuff table.

As Harry and Su started helping themselves to food, the teacher with no arms made his way down to them. He also had a wooden leg – and he had his wand fastened to the remaining half of his left arm. He was using it to levitate a stack of paper towards them. The site was somewhat comedic – Harry was reminded of Capitan Hook.

"Ah!" He exclaimed, when he had limped over to them. "Mr Potter! Miss Li! Bright and early on the first day, I see! Ten points to Gryffindor!"

Harry broke into a smile – partly because of the housepoints, and partly because the man was saying every sentence as if it were the most exciting thing ever.

"I am Professor Kettleburn. I'm the Gryffindor Head of House! I'm the one you come to if you have any problems in the house! I'm also the Care of Magical Creatures teacher!" he exclaimed, motioning his wand towards his missing limbs. The man sure appeared to have a bright outlook on life.

The professor waved his wand, and two slips of paper flew off the top of the stack, and landed in from of them. "These are your timetables! I see you have Defence first – don't worry about Professor Tenebris! She isn't as scary as she looks!"

Su looked at Harry, and raised an eyebrow quizzically. Harry smirked.

"Well enjoy your first day at Hogwarts, my friends! If you need any help with anything, my office is around the corner from the common-room! Ah! Hello Miss Johnson!" The enthusiastic professor greeted Angelina, who had just sat down next to them, before turning and limping towards the other end of the table, where the bushy-haired girl from the train had just sat down.

Angelina looked at the two first years, and chuckled at their expressions. "Professor Kettleburn always leaves the new kids speechless," she said with a smile. "Don't mind Kettleburn, he's great. Just over excited. About everything. Pass the marmalade, Harry".

Harry slid the bowl up the table to her, and shook off his reaction to the Professor. "What happened to him?"

"You mean with his arms and leg?" asked Angelina, to which Su nodded. "He's been the Care of Magical Creatures professor for about forever. He's great at it, but seems a bit accident prone; lost them to various creatures, apparently. He says that a dragon took his leg, but nobody believes him".

Harry laughed, as Angelina continued. "He's been saying for years that he's gunna retire, apparently. Something about spending time with his remaining limb."

Even Su grinned at that part, before looking up at Fay, who'd just arrived. "And why didn't you guys wait for me?" she demanded, in faux agitation.

Su muttered something which sounded like "couldn't wake you".

"You didn't even try," grumbled Fay, sticking out her tongue. Su raised her eyebrow and went back to her toast. Fay started munching on an egg, before saying "Morning Harry, Angelina". At least, that's what it sounded like - she said it with a mouthful of egg.

"Attractive," replied Angelina, smirking. Fay shrugged.

They were interrupted again by the arrival of the Weasley twins, who arrived, both laughing.

"Oh, what have you done now?" asked Angelina, sounding simultaneously amused and annoyed.

"Us?"

"What makes you think it was us?"

"What didn't you do?" Harry asked, curious.

He received an answer when the doors of the door burst open, and a girl who looked Angelina's age stormed in. She looked normal – apart from having fluro-yellow hair.

"Fred and George Weasley! I know it was you!" she ranted, as she stormed towards them.

"What was us?" replied Fred.

"I love the new look, Alicia!" George said with a grin.

Alicia looked torn between causing them pain, and eating breakfast. Eventually, her stomach won, and she dropped into a seat beside Angelina, and grabbed a plate of bacon. Harry had gathered that the Weasley twins were always like that, and nobody stayed mad at them long.

Fred leaned across to Harry, and said "replaced her shampoo with a colour-change potion on the train yesterday. If she'd used the conditioner, it'd be blue".

Fay was looking at the twins like she had found her heroes. Angelina still looked torn between amusement and annoyance – and probably relief that it hadn't been her this time. Su didn't even look like she'd noticed the dramatic entrance; she just sat there, munching on her toast.

"Come on guys," Harry said, standing up. "We've defence first, and I don't fancy being late for Tenebris." Angelina clucked sympathetically as Su rose, still munching her toast.

"Still eating!" Fay whined, looking at her egg.

"Come on, sleepyhead" said Harry, teasingly. "Next time, get up earlier".

"I will if Su wakes me!" replied Fay, eyeing the Asian girl as they walked towards the door. Su raised her eyebrow slightly, which Fay took as meaning "yes".

They were among the first to arrive at the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. Professor Tenebris was waiting at the door, and motioned them in. Each desk held three people, so they took one of the desks at the front. Ethan, Dean and Seamus claimed the desk next to theirs. As the clock hit 9 am, Professor Tenebris left her post at the door, and strode towards her desk. Just as she reached it, two Hufflepuff boys ran in, out of breath.

"Sorry Professor," gasped one of the boys, clutching his side.

"Ten points from Hufflepuff. Please be timely to my class in the future," replied Professor Tenebris, shortly. She flicked her wand and the door swung shut with a loud bang, making most of the class jump.

Professor Tenebris looked like a rather young witch, but it was impossible to determine her age due to the scars on her face. She had long claw-marks crossing her forehead, across an eye, and down her cheek. The other side of her face looked as though it had been eaten away, or dissolved by acid.

"Defence Against the Dark Arts is one of the most important classes you will take at this school. Over the next seven years, you will learn a variety of spell and hexes, learn about dangerous creatures and how to face them, as well as how to face dark wizards and witches. Well! Why aren't you writing this down!"

The lecture continued for the rest of the lesson, outlining what they would be learning over the year, and what her expectations were as a teacher. Harry had been right – she was not a woman to cross. She knew her stuff, but was very strict, and sometimes harsh.

When Hermione Granger, the bushy-haired girl, had asked if Defence was important for an eleven year old, the professor had simply looked at her, before stating "the world is not a pretty place, Miss Granger. Not even for children. Five points from Gryffindor".

While Harry had been hanging off her every word (he found Defence fascinating, he was relieved like the rest of the class when the bell rang, and they could escape.

They followed Defence with Charms. The teacher, Professor Flitwick, was the opposite of Tenebris. He was tiny, smaller even that Su, and excitable – when he saw Harry, he toppled backwards off the pile of books he was standing on to see over his desk. This made Fay giggle, and Su send him a slight sympathetic look.

Professor Flitwick didn't bother much with a lecture – he started teaching them the Lumos spell.

Harry was excited for his History of Magic class after Charms – it had been fascinating to read ahead for, when he was stuck at the Dursley's. It was full of goblin revolts, and battles against giants, as well as a lot of political stuff, mostly about the Statute of Secrecy – and Harry found it fascinating. However, within about five minutes of sitting in the class, he found himself drifting off.

The ghost teacher, Professor Binns gave a lecture in a dull, continuous monotone, not stopping for interruptions (including the end of class bell). He was still speaking as the class left. Fay had suggested that he hadn't stopped speaking since he died – he just stood there, lecturing the classroom whether there were children there or not.

Throughout the first few classes, Harry could not shake the feeling that he was being watched. He knew he was attracting stares from students from time to time, and often had people point at him – which he ignored. This felt different. Whilst in the courtyard for the break after History of Magic, Harry thought he saw a ghostly figure watching him from one of the higher castle windows. It was too far up for him to make out details. Harry stared for a moment or two, but the figure seemed to disappear.

Harry, feeling slightly paranoid, started scanning other windows.

"Harry! Hey Harry!" Fay, looking agitated, finally flicked his ear.

"Ouch!" Harry started, his concentration broken.

"Stop zoning out when I'm talking to you," said Fay, in a faux scolding tone. "It's rather rude."

Su gave him a quizzical look, and brushed her nose with her hand.

Harry sighed. "Sorry, what were you saying?"

"Do ya think Flitwick is part goblin?"

"Um, dunno. Why?"

"Just interested, that's all. He's tiny, with pointed ears. Something not human there," commented Fay. "I find it fascinating, trying to work out people's past."

"You're rather nosy, ya know that?" responded Harry, poking his tongue out to show he was joking.

"Harry! I am not!" Seeing he was joking, she flicked his ear again.

"Ouch! Stop that!"

"No!" replied Fay, and flicked his ear again. Harry launched himself at her, trying to poke her in the ribs like he'd seen Angelina do on the train. Fay, being taller, merely rolled him over and flicked his ear again.

Harry glared at her. "Fine!" he said. "Lets go to astronomy". Harry felt his glare break and slip into a grin.

"See, you can't stay angry long," said Fay, still wearing a look of victory.

Harry shrugged and glanced at Su, who returned it with a slight smile. She had watched the two play-fight with a look of slight amusement and boredom.

The Gryffindor first years had astronomy with the Slytherins. They had one class rostered on during the day every week, which Harry assumed was for theory. They'd been told they'd also have classes at various nighttimes throughout the year.

They arrived at the same time as the other Gryffindors, and Harry sat between Ethan and Su – keeping his ears safe from Fay, for now. The classroom they were in was painted black – the walls, floor and furniture were all dark black. The ceiling was painted as an accurate representation of the night sky. Harry wasn't sure, but the stars looked magical – they were certainly twinkling brightly. Su grabbed his arm, and he followed her eyes – a meteorite was wafting slowly across the ceiling, appearing much closer than the stars. While there was no obvious source of light in the room, the room was brightly lit.

The Slytherins filed in a moment later. Theodore Nott sent Harry a smug look, and sat down surrounded by Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy Parkinson and Aeron Yaxely. Yaxley looked at Harry with a look of disgust. On the other hand, Tracey Davis and Daphne Greengrass both grinned widely at them. Millicent Bulstrode and Blaise Zabini ignored everyone, Gryffindor and Slytherin alike.

The noise in the room died down, as the Astronomy professor walked in. Harry felt a slight tingle run through his head when she entered. Professor Sinistra didn't look much older than some of the seventh year students they'd seen. She was tall and thin, with blonde hair. She also happened to be the Head of Slytherin.

Professor Sinistra ran her eyes across the students, and paused when they reached Harry. After several moments, she continued examining the class, before launching into a lecture explaining what first year astronomy would cover.

Throughout the lesson, she kept staring at him far longer than any other student. Harry groaned inwardly. He still didn't think he deserved his fame in the Wizarding world. He was grateful that Tenebris hadn't treated him any differently, while Binns probably didn't know he existed. Flitwick had reacted, but it had been sort of funny. Professor Sinistra was staring was slightly creepy.

It also wasn't going unnoticed by other students. Nott and Yaxley were muttering to each other, and laughing. Su hit his arm reassuringly. The class was then distracted when Sinistra tapped the wall with her wand, and the stars on the ceiling began to move around, simulating different locations in the world. This led to gasps from a few people in the class – it was rather pretty.

As the bell rang to signal the end of the lesson, Professor Sinistra called out "Wait behind a moment, Mr Potter."

Harry glanced at Ethan, who shrugged. Harry hadn't though he'd done anything wrong- he hadn't acted any differently than the rest of his classmates – was he already in trouble?

Harry waited until the class filed out, and approached the front of the classroom. He felt a strange shiver pass through his body at he got closer to the professor.

"I trust you haven't had any problems at Hogwarts so far, Mr Potter," she asked, in a questioning tone. She had a very slight Swedish accent.

"Um, no Professor," Harry replied. "It's only the first day, after all".

"I warn you that some of my Slytherin students are not going to be very fond of you".

"I've noticed that," said Harry, thinking of Nott, and the glares he had received from some Slytherin students.

"If they give you any trouble, you can come to me, Harry," continued Sinistra, as if he hadn't spoken. Harry noticed the switch from "Mr Potter" to "Harry".

"Thanks, Professor".

"You may go".

Harry left the classroom, and ran into Fay and Su – they'd been waiting outside. Su raised her eyebrow quizzically, in a silent question, that was then vocalised by Fay.

"So?"

"She just asked if I had any problems. And warned me about some of the Slytherins," answered Harry.

"She's a weird one," commented Fay, and Su nodded in agreement.

* * *

Aurora Sinistra was a very intelligent witch. Sorted into Slytherin whilst at Hogwarts, she was one of only three muggle-born students in Slytherin house in a stereotypically a pureblood house. Slytherin was perhaps part of the reason that so many muggle-borns followed Voldemort during the War.

Aurora had the misfortune of arriving in Slytherin house as the War started to accelerate. Throughout her time at Hogwarts, many of her classmates had parents at least sympathetic to Bellatrix Lestrange, and at worst, were part of her army.

Being muggle-born, she become a social pariah within Slytherin, and most of her housemates ignored her, and occasionally became hostile. She had thrown herself into her studies to escape this.

She completed Hogwarts at 16, taking her N.E.W.T.s a year early because she was so far advanced. After this, she apprenticed under the Astronomy professor at Hogwarts, before taking over the job when he had died. She was 19.

At the time Harry started Hogwarts, she had just turned 21, and she had just been made Head of Slytherin.

Aurora liked the irony – she was now the Head of a house she had been taught to hate.

* * *

The first week of class continued, with Harry and his friends attending more of their classes and meeting more teachers.

Potions class was interesting. The subject was immensely interesting, Harry was fascinated with the possibilities of potionmaking, and they had made a rather simple potion intended to cure boils.

The potionmaster was a bit hard to deal with – he appeared to hate all students. He was an older man called Professor Bryd. He was rather hunchbacked, which most students attributed to him constantly bending over a cauldron. His skin was also strange – it was an odd green colour, and seemed to glow slightly.

Angelina had told him at dinner one night that the green glow on the potionmaster was thanks to an experimental potion that went wrong. Apparently, Professor Bryd had a habit of inventing new potions and testing them on himself – and it often went wrong, and the Professor ended up hospitalised. One of the Weasley twins had said that the Professor missed a quarter of his classes because of it.

Harry figured that was a slight exaggeration.

Herbology with Professor Sprout was a rather laid-back class. It was outdoors in the greenhouses, and Sprout did not seem much of a disciplinarian. Harry wasn't that fond of the class – it reminded him far too much of having to do gardening for the Dursleys. Despite the fact they were working with magical plants, all they had done was re-pot some plants.

Transfiguration was with Professor Aptet. She was a tall, thin old lady, who reminded Harry of a less strict McGonagall. She was like the teachers Harry had had at muggle school. She too had started them on magic – turning matchsticks into needles.

The first years were now learning more magic, the Lumos charm and the water spell in Charms, a warming spell in potions, and a very weak form of the Banishing spell in Defence – just strong enough to push their books across the desk.

The nighttime astronomy class was at midnight on Wednesday, at the top of the astronomy tower. While Professor Sinistra occasionally stared at him, she didn't pull him aside to talk to him this time. He couldn't help feeling uneasy around her – she was a bit too forward with his fame.

As the first week of classes started to end, Harry looked back on the relationships he had made at Hogwarts.

He was probably closes to Su. She was immensely quiet, barely talking to anyone apart from him, and sometimes to Fay. She communicated just as much with facial expressions and gestures. Harry was starting to get better at reading her body language – and it wasn't uncommon for them to have a conversation where Su didn't speak at all.

She was the smallest person in the school (save Flitwick), and with her very quiet nature, this had attracted some bullying from other students. However, any comments that people directed at her were ignored. She did not appear to notice the insults, and people had already stopped trying. It was no fun teasing someone who didn't notice or respond.

He was also close to Fay – and the three of them had formed a sort of "trio". Fay was rather fun, loud and laidback, contrasting Su quite nicely. She looked at the twins as heroes, and the twins had taken her under their wing. She couldn't wait to learn enough magic to copy them, and it was scary to think where she'd be in a few years with their influences.

Harry assumed it was the Weasley twins who stopped problems escalating with certain Slytherins, namely Nott, Yaxley and Parkinson. Other than dropping the occasional snide remark, the Slytherins had basically left them alone. Nobody wanted to annoy the Weasley twins, and it was known that they were friendly with Harry.

Angelina on the other hand had essentially adopted Harry as her little brother. She had become his source of information for all things Hogwarts and magical. Angelina seemed to enjoy showing him off to her friends, and Harry struggled to get used to the group of older girls fawning on him. They knew it made him uncomfortable – in fact, it was largely why they did it, and the more uncomfortable he got, the more they did it.

Within his dorm, he was rather friendly with Ethan, and got on well with Dean and Seamus. The latter two had still not sorted out their "friendly" Quidditch vs Football argument, which was starting to annoy the entire house – escalating one evening in the common room, when a burly Sixth year cast a Silencing charm on both of them. Harry would have to learn that one if the argument continued. As for Simon Pucey, he continued to ignore everyone – and Harry had still heard him say a word.

Harry had also talked to Hermione Granger a few times – she tried to talk to him a few times when she found out he was raised by muggles (she was a muggle-born). Harry tried to be polite, but found her to be very much like Percy – very studious and intelligent, but arrogant and loved the rules – and Harry didn't like her, much. He still managed polite conversations with her, however.

His time at Hogwarts so far had outshone his time with the Dursleys, and at muggle school. He enjoyed being out of Dudley's shadow, and being able to have friends that weren't chased away.

Despite this, Harry couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched at the oddest times. He didn't see anything, and he didn't think it was because of students staring at him from time to time, as he also felt it when alone. Harry didn't know what it was, but it was creepy.

* * *

**A/N The next chapter, "Millicent and Invisibility", is under construction now. Will feature surprise gifts, new friends, as well as the first glimpse of the current Voldemort in this AU universe.**


	5. Millicent and Invisibility

Harry, Fay and Su sat underneath a tree by the lake. It was a place they had discovered on the second day of school, and had become the place they spent most of their breaks and afternoons, weather permitting.

It was Friday afternoon, and they had just finished their last class of the week. Almost every class apart from Defence and Charms had given them some sort of written homework to do. Flitwick and Tenebris had simply told them to practise the spells they had learnt.

Harry and Su were filling out an Astronomy chart, naming the stars, planets and constellations, using their textbook to aid them – Sinistra had told them that they had to know all of the these names without needing a reference by the end of the year. Su was rather smart – she wasn't generally a fast learner, but she never stopped trying until she had learnt something properly and thoroughly. Harry was trying to emulate her.

Fay was lying on her back, and practising the Banishing charm on a small rock. She used the Banishing charm to launch it into the air – it would fly up about fifteen feet, before falling back down, where she Banished it into the air again. Professor Tenebris said that they'd learn a far stronger form of the Banishing charm in later years, capable of pushing people away. It required much more power and skill to do.

The purpose of this form of the charm was to practise casting spells over and over, as well as improving aim. The charm didn't require much power, or fancy wand movements, so it was a great place to start.

Tenebris had suggested they practise in the way that Fay was – but she had suggested using a rubber ball, or a scrunched up piece of parchment, so they wouldn't get hurt if they missed it when it fell back down.

Fay had insisted on using a rock because it "helped her concentrate", but she already had a rather large red mark where the rock had hit her.

Su and Harry were distracted from their star-charts by a very large brown owl, swooping over the lake towards them. Fay was eventually distracted by the owl as it got closer, and the rock hit her head again.

Fay swore under her breath. "Bloody owls!" she said to Harry, shaking her head when she saw Harry laughing at her, and Su wearing an amused expression.

The owl landed in the middle of the group, carrying a package wrapped in brown paper. Fay reached to take the package, but the owl screeched, and hopped towards Harry.

Fay shot the owl a dirty look. Harry untied the package, and the owl looked at him for a moment, before taking off and flying back over the lake.

Harry opened the envelope that was attached to the package. The note wasn't very long:

_Your Father left this in my possession before he died. I think it's time that it was returned to you._

_Use it well._

The note didn't have a name or a signature, and Harry had no idea who could have sent it.

Harry passed the note to Fay, and to Su. Su shrugged, and raised an eyebrow – asking who sent it.

"Who do ya think it could be from?" Fay asked him.

"No idea…" replied Harry, racking his brains.

Su prodded him, and pointed at the package.

"Alright, alright" Harry said, and grabbed the package, and started to tear off the packaging. He pulled out a large ornate cloak, which was paper-thin and, and big enough to cover more than one person.

"I know what that is!" exclaimed Fay, loudly.

Su made an uncharacteristically loud gasp, showing that she too knew what it was.

"That's an invisibility cloak!"

"A what?" Harry asked, wrapping the cloak around his shoulders. He looked down – his body had disappeared. "My body's gone!"

"You've figured out what it does," said Fay with a chuckle. "They're really rare!"

"Harry, you shouldn't tell many people about this," Su told him in an undertone.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, that's probably why it didn't come with the post at breakfast," he said, loud enough for Fay to hear as well. "I imagine the teachers wouldn't approve, and pretty much everyone would want it for themselves".

"Imagine the things we can do, though!" said Fay excitedly. "We could freak people out…" she trailed off, lost in plans. The Weasley twins were already influencing her.

"It'd also be useful to explore places after curfew," commented Harry, thoughtfully. "The castle is huge, bound to be plenty of stuff to explore".

Sue raised her eyebrow, and brushed her nose with her hand, before saying "library".

Harry and Fay were getting rather good an interpreting Su's unusual methods of communication.

Fay nodded. "It'd be good to be able to get books and study without that harpy watching us".

Madam Prince, the librarian, was a foul-tempered and strict old lady, and was fairly fanatical about protecting her books. She stalked around the library, hovering over people as they studied, and hissing at people for making noise, or being reckless with the books. Fay had borrowed a book, and when she returned it the next day, Madam Prince had spent five minutes examining it for any damage.

Poppy Caxton, a first year from Hufflepuff, had been reduced to tears by the librarian for accidentally dropping a few spots of ink on a library book – on the second day of class. Harry had heard that it took Professor Sprout almost an hour to calm the poor girl down. Of all the nicknames Madam Prince had gathered from the students, "harpy" was the most polite.

Harry nodded at Fay. "Yeah, we could get into the restricted section, as well".

Harry smirked as Su's eyes lit up when he said that; that girl adored reading.

The first years sat, debating who may have sent the cloak, and what they could do with it – they had forgotten all about their homework. It grew darker, and dinner had begun while they were discussing the cloak excitedly.

Finally, a loud growl from Fay's stomach snapped them out of their discussion, and they packed up their things and headed inside for dinner.

Luckily, it being Friday, dinner ran far longer than it did on other weekdays. Despite this, by the time they arrived in the great hall, it was half-empty. They sat down next to Angelina, who was with two of her good friends – Alicia Spinnet (the girl who had her hair turned yellow by the twins on the first day of school), and Katie Bell, another third year girl. They often enjoyed fawning over Harry and making him uncomfortable and awkward.

They started eating hungrily, while Angelina and her friends had begun dessert. Harry felt the uneasy sense he was being watched again.

He searched the great hall, looking for eyes. Eventually, he locked eyes with the female ghost at the Ravenclaw table. She was the same ghost who had been watching him during the Sorting Feast, but Harry hadn't seen her at mealtimes since then.

Harry nudged Angelina, and she turned and gave him a questioning look.

"Who's that ghost, the one at the Ravenclaw table," he asked, motioning slightly with his hand.

"Ah that's the Grey Lady," replied the black girl, running her hand through her braided hair. "She's the ghost of the Ravenclaw tower. She doesn't talk to anyone, apparently. Not even the other ghosts".

Harry nodded, and Angelina continued. "She seems to have taken a liking to you, though". Alicia, who was sitting close enough to overhear, raised her eyebrows at Harry teasingly, before laughing at his expression.

"Yeah," Harry said, "she was like that at the Sorting Feast as well."

Su raised an eyebrow questioningly. Though she had been eating throughout the conversation, Harry knew she had been listening intently.

"She's a weird ghost, that one," Alicia said. "Shows up randomly at mealtimes, but ignores everyone. Never seen her stare at a student before".

"I wonder what she wants with you, Harry," Angelina asked. Harry shrugged, and he looked worried. "At least she can't do anything to you, Harry – she's a ghost," continued Angelina, reassuringly.

"Yeah, apart from creep me out," Harry replied sullenly. Angelina and her friends laughed at his discomfort, but Su poked his arm sympathetically. Fay hadn't heard the entire conversation – she was too engrossed in dinner.

Later that night, after reassuring a begging Fay that they'd use the invisibility cloak the next day, Harry climbed into bed. That night, he was plagued by a nightmare

The first part was a recurring nightmare he'd had on and off for several years. The second part was new – and it filled him with an irrational sense of terror.

* * *

_The Nightmare_

_Bellatrix Lestrange blasted open the door of a cottage and stalked into the house._

_She sent a flash of green at the man, who was came into the hall, drawing his wand, and he fell to the floor, lifeless. _

_Bellatrix entered the next room, and saw a woman run up the staircase. Cackling madly, she followed the woman, and entered another hallway._

_She blasted open each door in the hallway violently until she found the woman. The woman, standing defensively in front of a crib, began to cast a spell._

_The insane witch was faster, and there was another green flash, and the woman fell to the floor. _

_Bellatrix looked at the prophesised child for a moment, and then started building up power in her wand. She wanted to make sure this child had no chance of survival._

_The killing curse grew in her wand, as she poured more of her magic into it. Her wand started glowing green, then started to smoke – Bellatrix felt her magic drain, and knew she had to let go of it soon!_

_Suddenly, another figure appeared in the doorway._

_"Bellatrix," Voldemort said, and started casting._

_"Tom," replied Bellatrix._

_And then two things happened at once. Voldemort spun and sent the killing curse at the child. And Bellatrix, distracted by the intrusion, lost control of her over-powered wand, and the killing curse exploded out. There was a massive flash of green, and an explosion._

_Suddenly, the nightmare shifted. _

_A tall, muscular man was walking through a forest. He had a muggle assault riffle strapped to his back, and he was carrying a small baby-like creature, covered in green scales._

_"Is it ready, Simmons?" the creature asked in a hissing voice._

_"Yes, my lord," replied the large man. "She is in place, and all will be prepared within six months"._

_"Good. Since the Stone was not put at Hogwarts, we cannot find it. This is the only option we have left." The voice of the creature was threatening, and full of malice._

_"I will not fail you, my lord," replied the man, visibly nervous._

_"Good. Remember, we need his blood for this to work…"_

_The man replied, but it was cut off, as Harry woke with a start. Inexplicably, the second part of the dream terrified him._

* * *

He had dreamed the first part for many years. It only made sense after McGonagall explained magic, and explained how his parents died. He did not know how he could see the entire scene, nor if it had actually happened that way. He had never told anyone about his recurring dream. The dream had always upset him.

The second part of his dream was new. The new part felt so real. The man and the creature, they wanted something. They needed blood for something. His blood?

Harry didn't know if he was reading into the dream too much or not. The only dream he ever remembered was the one about his parents dying, and he had always assumed it was real. This new one…he couldn't quite explain it. But he felt majorly afraid.

His mind spinning, he decided he needed air. He looked at his watch, and it was after midnight.

Harry sighed. Now was as good a time as any to test out his invisibility cloak. He pulled it from his bag and slipped it on, before slipping down into the common-room.

He hesitated slightly at the portrait hole. What would the Fat Lady do if an invisible person left the common-room at this time? Taking a breath, he pushed open the portrait hole and snuck out.

"What? Who's there?" called the Fat Lady, sleepily. She turned her head, and then fell back asleep.

Harry wandered the empty halls of Hogwarts, trying to calm down and think rationally. Why would this dream be real? Why was it filling him with so much dread? He couldn't explain it, it didn't feel right, but he felt panicked and scared.

He wandered around aimlessly for a long time, not focusing on where he was going. He paused for a moment when Filch, the caretaker, walked past him. His heart beat even faster when he saw him. Harry panicked for a moment, before remembering that he was invisible.

He doubted that it would have mattered. The caretaker was drunk and walking as if the corridor was a major slant. He was muttering quietly to himself, and Harry heard the words "thumbscrews…string 'em up…" and noises that didn't sound like any language he'd ever heard.

Harry ducked into a corridor, and found himself in a part of the castle he recognised – he was at the base of the stairs of the Astronomy tower. He'd been there on Wednesday night for his Astronomy class.

Harry climbed the stairs, figuring the cold night air would clear his head a bit. Running into the caretaker had forced him to calm down slightly, but he still felt confusingly panicked. The long climb also helped – it certainly hadn't felt this high when he walked up here with Fay and Su for class. They were talking, and barely paying attention to how far they walked.

After a ten minute climb, Harry was thoroughly out of breath when he stepped into the open air on the rooftop. The air was chilly, and shocked him for a moment. He took a few deep breaths with his eyes closed, allowing the cold air to wash over him. He felt his heart slow, and his head calm down, and he stood that way for several minutes, before the sound of someone crying alerted him that he was not alone.

He opened his eyes, and surveyed the rooftop. There, with her feet dangling over the edge of the tower and her head in her hands, was Millicent Bulstrode. He had never spoken to her, but had seen her several times – and as she towered over most people below the fifth grade, she was rather memorable.

Harry wasn't sure what to do. Whenever he had seen her, she always looked impassive, emotionless. She didn't seem the type to be crying on rooftops. Or crying at all.

Mustering his courage, he pulled off the invisibility cloak, and stuffed it into his pocket. He slid down next to her on the edge of the tower.

"Millicent?" Harry said, in a questioning tone.

Millicent jumped. She'd obviously been too upset to notice him sit down.

"Oh! Potter."

"Just Harry is fine. Um…Are you okay?"

She snorted, and Harry backed it with "sorry, that was a stupid question, wasn't it? What's wrong?" His stupid comment stemmed the tears slightly, though.

Millicent looked convoluted for a moment, as if she was trying to decide whether or not to tell him or not. At least her tears seemed to have stopped though.

"Just…Pansy and her second year friends."

"What did they do?"

Millicent paused for a moment, gathering herself before continuing. "They uh…say some pretty terrible things, curse me from behind…because….because I'm a halfbreed". Her voice cracked at the last word, and she wiped her eyes on her robes. It was then Harry noticed a large bruise on the side of her face. Harry remembered what Fay had said during the sorting, about thinking Millicent was a half-giant.

However, he still asked, just to make sure. "A what?"

"My dad was a giant". Harry nodded, sympathetically.

"But why does that matter?" Harry asked.

Millicent looked at Harry, confused. "You really only just heard of the wizarding world, huh?" Harry nodded in reply. "Yeah, Daphne said you'd been raised by muggles but I didn't believe her".

"After my parents died, I was raised by my aunt and uncle, muggles. They…don't exactly like magic," Harry replied hesitantly – he hadn't spoken of the Dursleys to anyone at Hogwarts yet, although he figured Su had probably picked something up.

Millicent nodded, and then explained. "You see, some magical people think they're better than people because they're purebloods".

"Bellatrix Lestrange," interrupted Harry, before realising he had interrupted. "Sorry Millicent, go on."

"If I'm calling you Harry, you can call me Millie, please. And yes, she's one of the worst ones in modern times. Pansy and her friends are like that too. They look down on people with muggle blood. And well, as I have a giant blood….I'm like an animal," she explained.

"Only to people like that," Harry replied, growing slightly angry. He knew what it was like to be bullied for being different – he had the Dursleys doing it to him for years. "You seem to be better than them, Millie," he said, with a reassuring smile.

"How do you know that?"

"Well, for a start, you're talking to me decently, and you don't seem to hate me without knowing me."

With that, Millie actually let out a bit of a smile. Harry was having a hard time adjusting – she had set herself up as an ice-cold person, who didn't have emotions. It was understandable, considering what he just heard.

All of a sudden, Millie burst into tears, and fell onto Harry's shoulder. Harry awkwardly put his arm around her – it was hard to comfort someone who's two feet taller than you, and is crying on your shoulder. Harry was one of the shortest people in his year.

He was slightly taken aback by her sudden burst of emotion – he supposed she was upset, and finally felt comfortable displaying emotion around someone. He probably shocked her into stopping her tears before.

A few minutes later, she seemed to recover and looked slightly embarrassed. "Sorry Harry…it's been…a rough day".

Harry waved off the apology, and decided to extend an offer of friendship. "Well…you don't have hang around them all the time. You seem friendly enough, and we can hang out sometime…" Harry felt awkward. He wasn't good at this kind of thing.

"I'd like that".

The two first years smiled, and started chatting, exchanging stories, and eventually forgetting their problems – the bullying for Millie and the nightmare for Harry.

However, it was well past two in the morning, and the eleven year olds were struggling to stay awake. Before long, both were passed out on the top of the Astronomy tower.

* * *

Harry awoke to a sharp pain on his nose, and a slight weight on his chest. Opening his eyes, he jumped slightly – to big, yellow eyes stared back at him. "Hedwig!" he half-shouted. The owl, annoyed that he had jumped, pecked his nose again.

Calming down, Harry scratched her behind the head. He knew the owlery was fairly close (as the owl flies) to the Astronomy tower, and Hedwig was probably heading back after hunting, and had seen him and decided to stay hello.

Harry scratched her behind her head, and she flew off in the direction of the owlery, probably to sleep off whatever rodent she had eaten that night.

Harry realised that the sun had begun to rise, and checked his watch – it was after 6.30 in the morning. Millie had woken up when Hedwig attacked him, and was looking around.

"We should probably go to our dormitories before people start to wake up," she said, and Harry nodded.

Harry helped the overly tall, but slender girl to her feet, and they headed to the stairs. They walked down the stairs quickly, and then parted – Harry going left, towards the Gyffindor common-room, and Millie turning right, and downstairs, towards the dungeon common-room.

"Hey Harry!" Millie called, before they were out of earshot. "Thanks for, ya know…talking to me…"

"Anytime," Harry replied with a smile, and turned around.

Once he was around a corner and out of sight, he put on his cloak – better safe than sorry. However, he did not see anyone, student or staff, in the corridors – luckily, it was a Saturday, and almost everyone should still be in bed, breakfast didn't start until ten.

Reaching the corridor of the Fat Lady, he pulled off his cloak before she could see him, and walked up to the picture.

"And where have you been?" She said in a menacing voice, but she had a slight smile. Harry guessed that students regularly came back at all hours.

"Caput Draconis," he said as a reply, and she swung open.

Checking his watch, he realised it was after seven. The common-room was empty, save for a tiny Chinese girl, curled up on a cushion and wrapped in a blanket – reading a book.

"Hey Su," Harry said, and the girl looked up.

She raised her eyebrows at him, and scrunched up her nose slightly.

"I'll explain later," he answered, as he walked over to her.

"Eight?" she asked, quietly, when he walked passed her, and he nodded, before climbing the staircase to the dormitory.

After washing and dressing, Harry grabbed his bag full of the leftover homework and went down to the common-room. Su was waiting for him, and they headed down to the grounds and began to wander around the lake.

Harry explained what had happened last night, talking in depth about his dream, and brushing over his encounter with Millie and what had happened that night. Su waited until he had finished, and then looked at him with a pensive expression on her face.

"Maybe you should talk to someone about the dreams, Harry," she told him, as they sat down under their usual tree by the lake. As they were alone, Su was more likely to speak normally every now and then. Even so, it was a rare occurrence.

"Who would I talk to?"

Su tilted her head to the side, and shrugged. She muttered "McGonagall" under her breath.

Harry nodded. "Maybe…"

Su raised her eyebrows and looked at him insistently.

"I'll see her at breakfast, okay?" he said. Su smiled slightly, and nodded. Harry sighed. How did someone manage to be so convincing while barely speaking?

Harry didn't know why she communicated the way she did – but he wasn't going to push her to tell him, she could decide to do that on her own. Just like Su wasn't pushing him to tell her about the Dursleys, despite Harry being certain she knew a bit from innocuous comments he'd made.

Su looked content after he promised to talk to McGonagall. She rolled onto her stomach, and pulled out their potions assignment for the weekend. They had to list and describe common potions ingredients. Harry did the same thing, and they spent the next hour and a half finishing the assignment.

* * *

It was almost ten, and they walked inside for breakfast. They were the first students to arrive – Harry suspected that most students were sleeping off the first week of class.

Professor McGonagall sat in the middle of the staff table, drinking from a goblet and reading the newspaper. The only other teachers in attendance were Professer Bryd, hunched over a plate at the end of the table, and Professor Sprout, who was sitting a few seats away from McGonagall, and seemed to have fallen asleep.

Harry thought she'd probably been up early in the greenhouses. The Great Hall was unusually eerie with only five people there – including him and Su, and their footsteps echoed loudly. As Su took their usual seat on Gryffindor table, she motioned with her head towards McGonagall. Harry nodded, and walked up to the staff table.

Professor McGonagall looked up when he arrived. "Mr Potter?"

"Hello Professor McGonagall"

"How are you settling in?"

"Oh… um really enjoying it, thanks," replied Harry gratefully. He was thankful to McGonagall – as she was the one who rescued him from the Dursleys.

"What do you need, Harry?"

"Oh, I was wondering if I could talk to you about something…uh…something that's worrying me."

McGonagall raised her eyebrows slightly, but said "sure Harry. Come to my office after breakfast, okay? The password is "hairball". The portraits will help you find my office."

"Thanks, Professor". Harry went back to sit with Su, thinking about the unusual password for the Headmistress's office.

Su tilted her head slightly when he sat down. "She told me to go to office after breakfast," replied Harry. "Know when Fay's gunna come down?"

Su raised her eyebrows, and smiled widely.

"You're right," said Harry. "I don't suppose she'd be awake for a while".

They spend the meal debating what they thought they'd be learning in the next weeks. Harry noticed, one of the benefits of Su's communication style is that she could effectively talk without interrupting her eating.

* * *

Harry went to McGonagall's office after breakfast. The magical portraits directed him to the headmistress's office, via the quickest route. Apart from a portrait of a seemingly insane knight called "Sir Cadogen", who tried to direct Harry towards a duel with him.

One portrait, of a kindly old lady with two small dogs, explained that all the portraits in the castle were obligated to guide people to the headmistress's office if they needed it. Apparently, they didn't have to give directions anywhere else though. Harry thought it would have saved him a lot of time in his first week if the portraits gave out useful directions to other places.

As he reached a large stone gargoyle, he said "hairball", and the gargoyle twisted out of the way. He stepped onto the magically revolving staircase, and it bought him up to McGonagall's office. He stepped in to the office

Three walls were lined with portraits of people, all sleeping in chairs – the third wall was only half full of portraits. The fourth wall was a giant window, overlooking the grounds (although he was sure this part of the castle didn't overlook the school grounds – magic!). The room was sparsely furnished. A desk, flanked by two large, freestanding bookshelves sat in the middle of the room. McGonagall was sitting behind the desk.

"Ah, Harry. What would you like to talk to me about?"

He took a seat opposite the headmistress, and explained the dreams, and the irrational feeling he had after the dreams.

After he had finished, McGonagall rubbed her eyes, and then pressed her hands together.

"Well, I don't know," she began. "The first part of the dream certainly conforms to the reports I have heard about what happened that night. As for how your dream is accurate like that, I don't actually know. You must understand, the magic that happened that night was unprecedented – you survived something you shouldn't have, and the amount of power Bellatrix put into that spell was abnormal. No spell should be powered like that – especially not that one. I don't know what it was about the magic that night that makes you able to dream this, without seeing almost all of it.

"Something happened there, and you seem to have picked up this memory of something you shouldn't ever have had to witness. As for the second dream – I don't know if it was real or not, again because we do not understand the magic at work that night."

"But Professor, I don't understand what it is about…"

"Well, Simmons, the person in your dream, was one of Voldemort's most powerful followers. He was born in a pureblood family, but didn't have magic, and so he was rejected by his family. I think that is why he joined Voldemort. He had no magic, but was very good with muggle weapons, and took down many powerful wizards.

"As for the creature – I have no idea. But because Simmons was calling it "my lord", it could be some broken form of Voldemort – I don't believe he died ten years ago, and that could be the form he is in. Again – we don't know is this dream is real or not, Harry. It's quite a specific dream for someone with no real knowledge of Voldemort like yourself, but it could have just been a dream."

Harry felt his head spin slightly.

McGonagall saw him feeling worried. "Harry, I ask you not to worry about this too much. Even if it is real, you are far too young to deal with this – this school is responsible for protecting its students, and I aim to do that".

Harry smiled at Professor McGonagall – he did feel more reassured.

"Professor….why did it affect me so much?"

"I'm not sure, Mr Potter," replied McGonagall. "I think it's because you're so young, but have been through a traumatic event that most adults haven't. Perhaps it acted as a reminder? Perhaps it triggered emotions that you don't normally use much".

Harry nodded. It was starting to make sense. McGonagall continued. "If you would like, I could organise an appointment with Madam Pomfrey – our MediWitch. She might be able to do something to help these feelings, and perhaps stop the dreams."

Harry smiled. "I'd appreciate that, Professor." Harry turned, and began walking to the door.

McGonagall sighed. This eleven year old was overly mature, but he was dealing with things he shouldn't have to. If that dream turned out to be real, she knew he may be at risk of Voldemort coming after him sometime.

"Potter!" She called. Harry had just reached the door, and turned back to her. "Come here for a moment."

When Harry reached her, she handed him a plain, thin metal bracelet. "Put this on".

"Professor?" he asked, confused.

"It's a Locator Bracelet. If you're in bad trouble, and you want my help, it will let me know, and help me find you. I hope this makes you feel more secure".

"Thankyou, Professor. It means a lot". Harry turned and left the room.

McGonagall sighed again. Giving Harry that bracelet was more of a support thing – she dearly hoped that she would never have to use it. Hopefully, it would help him feel safe.

Harry descended the spinning staircase, playing with the cold metal on his wrist. He had much to tell Su and Fay about. And perhaps Millie, too.

He stepped off the staircase and started to head back towards the common-room.

* * *

**A/N The next chapter is underway. I decided to introduce the invisibility cloak early in the story - as for why, and who sent it - you'll find out later. **

**I hope you enjoy the little teaser of Voldemort - and don't think I'm leaving Bellatrix out, she'll have a much stronger role, especially in some of Harry's later years at school. But more of that later.**


	6. Of Trolls and Fireworks

**A/N Sorry about the time it took to upload, assignments got in the way**

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed this so far - i always like to know what people think :D**

* * *

As classes got busier, the next three weeks went past in a flash, and before long September was almost over. The first years were beginning to move beyond basic spells and potions. Professor Tenebris was probably the hardest taskmaster.

Professor Tenebris set five minutes aside at the end of each lesson, to tell stories about her time as an Auror. She had just become an Auror when the War started, and quickly became famous (according to some of the older students). She had duelled with each dark lord on more than one occasion. Apparently, she had quit the force after the War ended (she looked at Harry directly when she said that), and taken the Defence role at Hogwarts – because she was dismayed that so few people knew how to defend themselves.

Despite her being strict to the point of insane (talking out of turn in her class could cost 20 house points), Harry was developing a huge amount of respect for her. He certainly put more time into defence than any other class.

While Potions class was interesting, the politest way to describe Professor Byrd was "thoroughly unpleasant," although, the Weasley twins had far more colourful words to describe him. Transfiguration had moved on to transforming blocks of wood into metal, while Charms had taught them the Summoning charm, and was beginning to work on the Levitation charm.

Despite his initial uncomfortableness around Professor Sinistra, she had made an intriguing proposal at the end of the last class in September. He had taken Millie to Professor Flitwick, and asked him to teach them a strong locking charm – apparently, certain Slytherins had been stealing things out of her trunk – and Professor Sinistra thought he was interested in learning more advanced spells.

"Mr Potter, I hear you're asking Professor Flitwick to teach you extra-curricular charms". They were alone on the top of the Astronomy tower, just after an Astronomy class.

"It was just a locking charm, Professor. One of my friends…." Harry began to reply.

"Do you want to learn extra spells?" asked Sinistra, bluntly.

Harry had only really been learning magic for a month. It was still rather new and exciting. "Uh, yeah, I guess," he replied, hesitantly but expectantly.

"Come to the astronomy classroom on Sunday."

Harry didn't know why he got the invitation, and Millie didn't – she had gone to Flitwick with him, and she was also in the same Astronomy class as Harry. Harry still accepted the proposal, and returned to the common-room, excited.

* * *

Harry generally studied with Su when doing homework. She had a solid work ethic – she wouldn't give up until she had mastered something, but then she would leave it and move on. Harry, excited about learning new things, emulated her excitedly.

Su and Harry had also become closer than Harry's other friends. Su communicated mainly through a combination of complex facial expressions and gestures, and one-word sentences. While Harry had picked this up within a week, and could communicate with her effectively and quickly, the rest of their classmates often struggled. Even Fay had some difficulties. Harry often became her unofficial translator.

Harry, Fay and Su were still a trio, but Fay was the lighter side of the group. She had been taken under the wing of the Weasley twins, and they called her their "apprentice". Harry was grateful in a sense, because the twins hadn't targeted him, but he was becoming the guineapig for Fay's "practical jokes".

He had also successfully avoided confrontations with certain Slytherins. Several first year Slytherins, led by Yaxley and Nott, were continuously throwing insults and trying to get a rise out of him. He emulated Su, and didn't seem to listen. After living with the Dursleys, a bunch of 11 year olds weren't that hard to ignore.

* * *

The first Hogsmeade weekend was approaching – when students from third year and above could visit the all-magical village of Hogsmeade. Fred and George had already promised to get him a big bag full of chocolate from Honeydukes. However, Harry would be very careful putting anything Fred and George gave him in his mouth.

A few days earlier, they had put something into Angelina's drink at breakfast, which made her squawk like a parrot. She launched into a verbal assault at the Weasley twins in parrot-talk, before Harry pulled her up to the staff table, and Flitwick had put her straight. Harry didn't know what she did to the twins after that, but they hadn't been seen until the next day.

Angelina had a date to Hogsmeade. When Harry walked into the common-room after class on Friday, Alicia and Katie had each grabbed him, one under each arm, and carried him towards the girl's dormitory.

Cursing his small stature, Harry struggled – remembering what the female prefect had said on his first night, warning them against going up the stairs to the dormitory unless he wanted "embarrassment".

However, they successfully carried him up the stairs with nothing embarrassing happening. Noticing his expression, Alicia laughed.

"You're okay, the charms only go off if you try and get up here without a girl with you".

Harry, although used to the antics of Angelina's friends, was a little indignant after being kidnapped in such a way.

"You could have just asked!" he exclaimed, indignantly.

"Relax, Harry," replied Katie.

"Yeah, we just need a male opinion," continued Alicia.

"And you're the closest thing we have!" teased Katie.

Harry stuck his tongue out at her. Angelina, Alicia and Katie had a habit of speaking like the twins (although they were far less adept at it). And after a month of them fawning over him and faux flirting, he had started to stop being uncomfortable. It was either adapt, or continue the discomfort.

Alicia and Katie continued carrying him under his arms up the stairs, until they came to a door which read "Third Year".

They dropped him on the landing and opened the door, before frogmarching him into the Third Year Female Dormitory.

Angelina sat there, surrounded clothes. What followed was essentially a montage of different outfits, as Angelina tried on different outfits for his opinion. She wouldn't tell him, Katie or Alicia who her date was, but Alicia and Katie kept encouraging her to try different outfits.

Several weeks ago, Harry would have been effectively broken by this situation – stuck in a girls dormitory with three third years, in the middle of a clothing-montage. However, after a month around Angelina and her friends, Harry was almost immune.

* * *

When Harry and Su went down to breakfast that Saturday, the Great Hall was incredibly busy for a Saturday – all the older students wanted to get to Hogsmeade early. As soon as Harry walked in the door, they ran into the Weasley twins and Fay.

Fred and George grabbed him under each arm, and carried him out the door, followed by Fay and Su.

Harry swore – this was the second time in two days that he had been kidnapped in this way – he wished he weren't so short. He had no chance escaping from the clutches of the twins, as they were both over six feet tall.

"What do you want?" Harry asked, slightly annoyed.

"Relax Harry…" began Fred.

"It's time we do something…" continued George.

"We've been planning this for a while," finished Fred.

"Really, it was our mother's idea…"

"And our sisters…"

"We're blowing up a toilet!" Fay finished, excitedly. She'd begun to join the twins in finishing each others sentences.

Harry sighed – they'd been talking about this on the train, but he didn't think they'd actually do it. Su however, had a rather amused glint in her eyes. She looked at Harry with a questioning expression

"How was it your mother's idea?" asked Harry, translating her unspoken question.

"Well, she told us not to blow up a toilet," said George.

"And we'd never thought of doing that before," continued Fred.

"And then we told our sisters that we'd send them a Hogwarts toilet seat…"

"signed by you…"

"and that's why we need you?" finished George with a grin.

The twins had carried him through the Enterance hall, and started heading upstairs.

"You have sisters?" asked Fay, confused. The twins had talked about Bill and Charlie – their two oldest brothers, and everyone had met Percy – the rather strict prefect. The twins hadn't really talked about their sisters.

"Yep – two!" said Fred.

"Twins as well!" continued George, proudly.

"Ginny and Sarah" said Fred.

Harry groaned. "So there is another lot of Weasley twins?"

"Yep. At Hogwarts next year," answered George.

Harry and Su exchanged horrified glances. Fred and George were bad enough – everyone in Gryffindor tower slept with one eye open because of them. Another two running around and nobody would get any peace. Harry could hardly believe himself, but he was hoping for the younger twins to be a bit more like Percy.

The conversation died off as they reached a female bathroom on the first floor.

"So this is really happening?" Harry asked, tentatively.

"Yep!" said Fred, with a maniacal grin.

"A girls bathroom?"

"Yep!" repeated Fred, with the same expression.

"Don't blush, Harry!" cried George, and they guided the three first years into the bathroom. The floor was flooded; at least an inch of water covered the floor. The walls were covered in moss and mould, and it looked as though it hadn't been cleaned in years.

"Nobody ever comes in here," explained Fred.

"This is Moaning Myrtle's bathroom," the other twin said.

"Moaning Myrtle?" Harry asked.

"Who's Moaning Myrtle?" questioned Fay.

"I'm Moaning Myrtle!" yelled a new, female voice from one of the cubicles. This was followed by a loud 'SPLASH'. "Who's disturbing me now? Can't a girl be dead in peace?" The ghost of a girl, around the same age as the twins, floated through a cubicle door.

"Hi Myrtle!" chorused the twins.

"Oh, it's you two," sniffed the ghost, looking glum. "Back again?" Instead of waiting for an answer, Myrtle shot down a toilet and disappeared.

"She does that…" explained Fred. "We hide out from Filch in here sometimes". Su looked at Harry with a raised eyebrow, and Harry laughed.

The twins ignored him, and Fay pulled out a box from her bag. The box was labelled "Dr Fillibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks. The twins seized the box , and emptied it into a toilet. Fred used his wand to separate the toilet seat from the toilet, and handed it to Harry. Fred told him to sign it, and Harry used his wand clumsily to carve his name.

George used his wand to start the fireworks, and looked at the rest of the group. "We should, ya know, stand back a bit," he said with a crazy smile.

The five of them stood in the doorway and waited. There was a huge "BOOM!" – loud enough to crack the mirrors, and then the bathroom was filled with shrapnel and smoke.

"Wow!" chorused four of them, and Su let out a low whistle.

"Um, we may have overcooked that, Fred," commented George, unnecessarily.

"Yes well… we must be off!" replied Fred, and grabbed the toilet seat from Harry. The twins left, likely towards the owlery to send the toilet seat home.

Su tilted her head upwards, and the other first years nodded. They left, and walked quickly towards the Gryffindor common room.

As they were leaving, Harry heard the toilet-ghost say "Oh, fine. Blow up Myrtle's toilets…"

* * *

The rest of October passed swiftly, despite Harry waking from nightmares most nights. The dream he had had in the first week of school had been the start of an imaginary avalanche – it was rare that Harry slept through the night.

The twins had somehow avoided punishment for blowing up the toilet – Harry assumed this was simply because nobody had bothered to go into Myrtle's bathroom.

They did receive a Howler from their mother, for sending the toilet seat home. The Howler had arrived in the common-room a few nights after the toilet-explosion, and had shouted about "setting a bad example" and "throwing away their education". While the screaming letter had shocked some of the first years, Percy had told them that the twins had managed to receive a Howler essentially every month since they started Hogwarts. Everyone else in Gryffindor had completely ignored the Howler.

Angelina hadn't told anyone how her Hogsmeade date had gone. She had returned to Hogwarts looking murderous and upset, and refused to talk about it. A few nights after the Hogsmeade weekend, Harry had woken from a nightmare, early in the morning, and went to the common-room, intending to go for a walk.

Harry found the common-room empty, apart from Angelina sitting in a corner, crying. He had sat with her, but the thirteen year old didn't say a word – she just cried into his shoulder for most of the remaining night. The two didn't speak the entire time – and Harry hadn't found out what happened, even weeks later. By six in the morning, Angelina had cried herself out of tears, and he led her up to her bedroom.

Harry hadn't told her, but seeing the older girl upset had thrown him, slightly. In his group of friends, Su was the quiet one, Fay was the funny one, and the twins were the rebellious pranksters. Angelina was the strong one – she had somehow taken the role of an older sibling for Harry, and he just wasn't prepared to see her upset.

* * *

October had also seen the start of his extra-curricular lessons with Professor Sinistra. The professor taught him new spells (including the Disarming spell and the Jelly-legs jinx), and he spent many an hour trying to cast them on her. They didn't speak much in the lessons – once Sinistra had explained the new spell and how to do it, the lessons were just him trying to cast it. None-the-less, Harry relished having an adult pay special attention to him – it was something he had been denied in childhood.

While other teachers at Hogwarts certainly helped during classes, and Professor Kettleburn had shown a remarkable amount of enthusiasm for him (and all other Gryffindors), Sinistra had become a bit of a role-model for him. Harry knew it was somewhat irrational, but never having a proper parental figure in his life, he looked forward to lessons with Sinistra.

Harry also became much closer to Millicent Bulstrode during October. Their night on top of the Astronomy tower had begun a rather secret friendship. The Astronomy tower overlooked the Gryffindor dormitories, and Harry's bed was closest to the window. Whenever Millie wanted to escape from the people who bullied her, she went to the Astronomy tower. She then sent several Lumos spells at Harry's window, and he would come and join her. The two insomniacs would talk until sleep took over, and would then sleep until Hedwig woke them up. The intelligent owl somehow managed to wake them at 6.30 every morning, so they could get back to their dormitories before everyone woke up.

The Gryffindor and the Slytherin found someone to talk to in each other. The half-giant girl and the boy-who-lived each needed someone to rely on, and Harry found himself telling her more than he'd told anyone at Hogwarts. Despite this, the duo maintained a secret friendship, meeting 3-4 times a week after hours. Neither questioned why they kept it secret – it was their "special thing", and they didn't want people to interrupt.

The combination of new friendships and new classes meant that Halloween arrived swiftly.

* * *

The Halloween feast was something everyone was looking forward to. Even Harry, someone who didn't like Halloween (it was the day his parents had died), was excited after seeing the decorations around the Great Hall during lunch on the 31st.

The last class of the day for Halloween was potions. Professor Byrd was in a particularly bad mood. While he was normally unpleasant to all students, he was just plain nasty during this lesson. He set an unusually hard potion for his first year Gryffindor and Slytherin class.

He spent ten minutes yelling at Hermione Granger for adding ingredients to her potion in the wrong order. The girl looked like she was holding back tears by the end of it. Harry wasn't sure if he should feel sorry for her or not. Granger had been moody since they had begun to receive marks back for their homework, and she had almost never been first. The girl was always ranked second.

Harry assumed that the person who kept stealing first place was Su – that girl was rather smart, and she never gave up trying to learn new things, no matter how hard it was. She never talked about marks, or anything else around most people, and Harry had never seen her grades. But he knew that Su would be topping the year most of the time. Su didn't really care where she was ranked in the year – as long as she was learning. Harry found himself emulating this part of her character as well. Hermione Granger, however, seemed to value herself by how she was ranked – perhaps she was trying to set herself ahead of everyone because she was muggle-born.

Whatever the reason, she had become fanatical in trying to find out how well other people had done in each class. Harry wasn't surprised when she left potions in tears, ten minutes before the lesson was due to end. He didn't pay the competitive girl much attention, but heard Parvati Patil say that Granger was crying in the ground floor girl's bathroom during the Halloween Feast.

The Halloween Feast was delicious, certainly the best meal Harry had ever had at Hogwarts (and therefore, in his entire life). He sat next to Su, and the two spent the meal making silent conversation.

The main course had just ended, and the students were waiting for dessert to be served. Professor McGonagall had just made a speech – and Harry didn't think any student actually listened to the words. However, before the dessert appeared on their plates, Professor Sinistra burst into the Great Hall.

"Troll! Troll in the dungeons!" the professor screamed. "I thought you ought to know, headmistress," she continued, as she reached the staff table.

The Great Hall erupted into panicked screams, before Professor McGonagall demanded silence in a magically enhanced voice. The headmistress asked the prefects from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw to escort their students to their respective common-rooms. The Gryffindors and Ravenclaws were each in their own tower beginning at the seventh floor, and the Hufflepuffs were near the kitchens on the third floor – so further away from the danger than the Great Hall. The Slytherins were to congregate in the Divination classroom on the seventh floor, as their common-room was actually in the dungeons.

The Hogwarts students broke out into semi-organised chaos. Harry vaguely heard Percy shout out to the Gryffindors. As they were led out of the Great Hall, Harry pulled Su aside.

"What is it?" she asked, with a silent facial expression.

"Granger," replied Harry. "Doesn't know about the troll".

Su looked at him exasperatedly. "I know…" Harry answered. "But we should make sure she's okay…"

Su shook her head, but followed Harry when he snuck down a side-corridor towards the ground-floor toilets. Fay had been sitting with Fred and George, and hadn't seen them disappear. Harry and Su jogged down the corridor, getting closer to the ground-floor bathrooms. They were greeted by a horrific stench, and a loud scream.

Su gave Harry a look which said "I think the troll has left the Dungeons…"

"Yeah, I think so" replied Harry. The two first-years walked into the girl's bathroom and saw the mountain troll going berserk, and Granger hiding underneath a sink. Harry cursed under his breath. The bathroom was mostly destroyed – the troll had done a good job. The bathroom was covered in rubble and broken glass.

Su remained at the door, while Harry started moving along the wall. When he was far enough away from Su, they both began banishing small bits of rubble at the troll. Their banishing spells were far too weak to do any physical damage to the mountain troll- the twelve-foot-tall being was fairly sturdy, but the troll was sufficiently distracted. It turned its attention away from Granger, and towards the two students who dared to attack it.

The bushy-haired girl ran from the bathroom, while the troll turned its attention to Su. The beast rushed towards her, and tried to hit her with a large club. The little Asian girl ran between it's legs, and to the other side of the bathroom. The troll span around, and went towards Su again. Harry ran and jumped onto the back of the troll. The mountain troll tried to throw him off, but ended up with Harry accidentally shoving his wand up the troll's nose.

Su took advantage of the troll's distraction, and levitated the troll's club above his head, silently. The Asian girl never uttered a word when casting spells (despite silent casting being a N.E.W.T level skill). The club fell on the head of the troll, and the troll dropped to the ground, unconscious. Su ran forward, and pulled Harry away from the unconscious troll.

At that moment, Professors McGonagall, Tenebris, Flitwick, Byrd. Kettleburn, and Sinistra appeared at the door, followed by a flustered Hermione Granger.

"What…" began McGonagall, before falling silent at the sight in front of her.

"Well done, Mr Potter and Ms Li!" exclaimed Proffessor Kettleburn. "100 points to Gryffindor!"

The rest of the teachers looked speechless at the sight of an unconscious mountain troll and two first years. In the end, Hermione Granger took the blame, saying "she had read about trolls, and thought she could handle it".

McGonagall had taken 20 points from Gryffindor, and told them to leave.

* * *

Harry, Su and Fay did not become friends with Hermione Granger after this. If anything, it became more awkward. Harry felt somewhat (irrationally) betrayed – Gryffindor house was exemplified with bravery – and he and Su had run, unknowing, to help a fellow Gryffindor, while Granger had run away instead of helping them.

The brunette had tried talking to both Harry and Fay about it, but Harry had made a polite excuse, and Fay had ignored her completely.

Angelina had told him off for putting himself at risk – she hadn't talked to him for a week – the longest time since they'd met – and Harry had begun to understand that being a Gryffindor wasn't about mindless bravery. Gryffindor was about bravery _for those who were important_ to him. Some people were worth bravery, and some were not.

The week after Halloween was a time of great change for Harry. He realised that he couldn't help everyone. He had to chose who to help, and not let people try and gain his help. Su and Fay. Millie. Fred and George. Angelina, Alicia and Katie. They are the people he wanted to help right now.

Su had cornered him after Angelina had made him see the truth. She silently made him sit down. The common-room was empty; it was only him and Su.

She gave him a look, which asked him "what's going on?"

Harry shrugged. "Did we do the right thing?" Harry asked, quickly.

Su shrugged, and gestured to herself. Harry interpreted that (correctly) as "we all survived…"

Su wrapped her arms around him. Harry flinched, before returning the affectionate gesture. It wasn't that he wasn't used to affection – Angelina and her friends had prepared him for this. So had Fay and Millie. Su just wasn't that friendly wh anyone. Su motioned towards an empty piece of parchment, and Harry nodded. Su began writing – and she explained why she didn't talk…

* * *

**A/N - so the story is moving on, and the next chapter will focus on Su, and why she doesn't talk much to anyone really. It'll also expand on other characters. More characters will begin to make sense soon...**


	7. Revelations

**A/N So guys, sorry about the time between uploads, writers block is complete evil.**

**Also, any text in Italics is Su speaking silently**

* * *

Su had cornered him after Angelina had made him see the truth. She silently made him sit down. The common-room was empty; it was only him and Su.

She gave him a look, which asked him "what's going on?"

Harry shrugged. "Did we do the right thing?" Harry asked, quickly.

Su shrugged, and gestured to herself. Harry interpreted that (correctly) as "we all survived…"

Su wrapped her arms around him. Harry flinched, before returning the affectionate gesture. It wasn't that he wasn't used to affection – Angelina and her friends had prepared him for this. So had Fay and Millie. Su just wasn't that friendly with anyone….

Su motioned towards an empty piece of parchment, and Harry nodded. Su began writing – and she explained why she didn't talk….

* * *

And Su began to tell him her story…

Su Li wasn't ever a normal girl.

Born in China, her father was a Charms author, and her mother studied Giants. European Giants were mostly destroyed by wizards during the Giant Wars – and thus, the last Giants in Europe (a number less than 300) distrust magic, and tend to hate wizards indiscriminately.

On the other hand, Giants in Asia had never faced this kind of genocide, and numbered in the tens of thousands. Asian Giants were also fairly tolerant of people and magic.

Su's mother had studied Giants, and spent months at a time living with Giant tribes. While they were not vicious in any way, they were somewhat clumsy – especially with humans, who were so much smaller than them. Giants are similar to a large dog around children – eager and boisterous, and unsure of their own strength. Su's mother often carried bruises and broken bones from accidents with the Giants.

While she was pregnant with Su, a Giant had knocked to the ground quite badly. The impact had damaged the brain of the developing child slightly. Specifically, this was in the "language" part of the brain. The incident may also be the cause of Su's lack of growth during her life.

Because of this, Su did not learn to speak until she was five. She seemed able to understand Chinese when her parents spoke to her – she often did as they asked – and she developed a love of children's books. She could understand and read Chinese perfectly, but her brain would not connect properly with her mouth.

The young child communicated mainly through rudimentary facial expressions – a certain expression would mean "hungry", and another may mean "leave me alone". The facial expressions matched the normal vocal range of someone her age, but were silent and allowed her to communicate with her parents somewhat.

When Su was seven, her older sister was killed by a Chinese Fireball – she had just begun a career at a dragon sanctuary, and one of the dragons went rogue. Less than a month later, Su lost her mother – she was killed accidentally by a Giant.

This devastated the seven year old and her father. Su stopped talking to people again, and began to rely on facial expressions. Su's father pulled them out of China, and they moved to a Wizarding village just on the border of Wales. Su thought her father blamed China for the death of his wife and his daughter – he stopped speaking Chinese altogether – even at home. Su had to learn a new language.

Again hampered by her slight brain damage, Su struggled to pick up English – she had received her Hogwarts letter at the age of eleven before she could be considered proficient in English. None-the-less, she lacked any type of accent – the damaged linkages between her brain and mouth blocked any influence that speaking Chinese may have had on her speaking English.

Su picked up reading English well before she could speak it – in fact, she was a rather an advanced reader for her age, especially considering she hadn't begun learning English until she was seven.

Her father's refusal to speak their native language, and her incapability to learn a new language quickly led to her expanding her basic visual method of communication. She had developed complex facial expressions and hand movements that were able to convey what she meant – quite similar to the way Muggle sign-language works. However, only her father could fully understand her until she came to Hogwarts.

And now Harry could understand her too. Su assumed that both she and Harry needed someone to be emotionally close to, being isolated for their childhood – which is why they bonded so quickly.

While Su was capable of speaking properly, she had essentially spent her entire life communicating in a non-verbal way, and it was a difficult habit to break. She found it far more natural to communicate through her expressions than through spoken language. On top of this, she felt spoken English was a huge achievement – the greatest thing she had accomplished.

She didn't want to waste her hard-earned words on people who didn't deserve them. So she didn't talk to anyone at Hogwarts, outside of occasional words whenever necessary.

* * *

After Su had finished writing, and Harry had read it, she tossed the paper on the fire.

* * *

November faded into December, and the First years were looking forward to the winter break on the whole. Harry didn't know of any other Gryffindors staying at the school over Christmas.

Most classes had become far more practical, with the first years learning many simple, everyday spells. Harry's extra classes with Professor Sinistra had developed – he was mastering several first and second year charms and spells – and as a result he was topping practical classes (Charms, Defence and Transfiguration). He'd even managed a brief smile from the stoic Professor Tenebris for casting the Stinging Hex first go – he didn't tell her that he had learnt it a month before.

Sinistra was a very good teacher – and Harry thought she might have been wasting time teaching Astronomy. She'd tell him which spells to practise in advance, and have him do them in front of her.

He was becoming rather attached to the young Professor – she was the first adult to show caring for him.

A dribble of water came out of Harry's wand. He looked at it disdainfully. He tried again, and got the same result.

"Focus, Harry…" came the soft, feminine voice of Professor Sinistra.

"Augumenti!" Harry tried again, and was blasted backwards across the room by the force of water coming from his wand. Harry landed awkwardly and completely out of breath.

Professor Sinistra clapped excitedly. "Well done, Harry! That's a third year spell!"

Harry nodded, still unable to talk. His head throbbed, trying to recover from the level of magic he had just cast. "I think we should call it a day – it's almost time for dinner" ordered the professor. She held out her hand and pulled Harry to his feet. As their hands touched, Harry felt a strange electric shiver run through his body, almost making him trip.

"You okay, Harry?"

"Fine, Professor. Probably just recovering still"

"Harry, it's Aurora. We aren't in class". Harry nodded in acceptance. "Make sure you rest tonight, okay?"

"Sure, Aurora," replied Harry, walking out of the classroom.

He headed downstairs for dinner, still trying to shake the feeling of over-exertion. His strange reaction when Aurora had grabbed his had made him feel unusually and unexplainably hopeless. Harry figured it was probably just a reacting to draining himself magically like that. He reached the Great Hall and fell heavily into a seat between Su and Fay, and sighed.

Su elbowed him in the rib, and then Fay started talking. "What's with you? Normally you come in every Thursday, yabbering on about whatever Sinistra showed you."

"Just tired," grunted Harry. Fay shrugged, and turned to Fred and George. They started talking in low, sinister voices. Harry grinned – trust Fay to take things at face value – he didn't think she would ever be serious. He had no such luck with Su, however. She sent him a questioning glance.

Harry shrugged. "Just overdid a spell a bit".

Su grimaced at him, and obviously didn't believe him, but she let it rest. She went back to playing with her food. The tiny Asian girl didn't ever eat much, but spent most of her time moving the food around anxiously.

Harry looked across at Angelina, who was flanked by Alicia and Katie as usual. The black girl had been withdrawn since Halloween, and had stubbornly refused to tell anyone why.

She grinned across at him. "Professor Sinistra worn you out, Harry?" she asked, adding a lewd wink.

"Something like that," replied Harry with a grin – he was far too used to Angelina, Alicia and Katie to be embarrassed.

"What's she got you doing now?"

"Augumenti," answered Harry with a shrug. "I did it…kinda… but it took a lot of effort."

Angelina flicked a potato at him with her fork "That isn't fair, we haven't learnt that yet!"

Harry shrugged apologetically. "Well, how are you going?" he asked, pointedly. Katie was distracted by her second-year friends, and Alicia had become engulfed in Fred, George and Fay's conversation, so Harry had taken the opportunity to question Angelina.

"I'm great, it's almost Christmas!" replied Angelina.

Harry responded with a sigh, and looked around for help. Su was focusing on her food, and Fay was looking at Fred and George in admiration. "You haven't been yourself since Halloween," argued Harry.

"It's fine, Harry – stop asking about it" Angelina replied, showing slight frustration – Harry had been questioning her whenever he had the chance. "And stop diverting attention from you and the lovely Astronomy Professor."

Harry blushed slightly – everyone was teasing him about his lessons with Aurora. "She's just teaching me extra spells!" replied the eleven-year-old, adamantly.

The rest of dinner consisted of Angelina teasing Harry about Professor Sinistra, and it wasn't until afterwards that Harry realised that Angelina had distracted him from asking her what was wrong.

* * *

Angelina retreated to her dormitory after dinner that night. She had changed drastically since her first Hogsmeade visit several weeks earlier. She was still the enthusiastic, outgoing girl that Harry had met on the train, but something in her had faded.

She couldn't tell anyone what happened. Nobody could ever know. She collapsed onto her bed, and hid herself under her blankets. Harry could read her better than anyone else, but she found herself wishing he would leave her alone.

* * *

Later that same night, Harry ascended the stairs to the dormitory behind Ethan. Harry hadn't gotten to know the boys in his year that well – spending most of his time with Fay, Su and Angelina, as well as seeing Millie secretly. Ethan, he had bonded with somewhat, but the tall boy spent most of his time with a group of Hufflepuff boys. Seamus and Dean were inseparable, and Simon had yet to say a single word to him (or anyone).

Harry took his time getting ready for bed, mulling over the last few weeks – the revelations about Su, the change in Angelina, the troll incident – the first year was feeling overwhelmed.

The rest of the dormitory was asleep when Harry crawled into bed, only to be disturbed by a bright light flashing through his window. Harry groaned and rolled out of bed again. Throwing on his clothes and his invisibility cloak, he left the common room. The Fat Lady didn't even twitch – she had become used to being opened by "nobody" at least once a week. She even knew it was Harry who was coming and going; the portrait had bought it up one evening when Harry was returning from dinner alone and visible. He didn't know how she knew, but the Fat Lady didn't seem to mind his breaking curfew.

He crept along the now-familiar path towards the Astronomy tower. He almost ran into trouble – literally. Professor Sinistra was pacing back and forth in front of the bizarre tapestry depicting a man being beaten to death by trolls in tutus, and Harry had to hug the opposite wall to get past her.

Harry wasn't entirely fazed by this odd behaviour of pacing a random corridor – the youngest Professor was prone to unusual behaviour. In their private lessons, she often switched from happy and flamboyant to moody and sour rapidly, without provocation. And she was still prone to staring at him for far too long. Harry still liked the quirky lady in spite of this.

He was startled, however, when he looked back and Aurora had disappeared. She couldn't have left the corridor that quickly. "Magic…" muttered Harry, shaking his head.

The rest of the trip to the Astronomy tower was uneventful, as Harry had learnt the corridors well enough to stay out of Filch's way.

There was a solid chill in the air on the top of the tower, as it would probably start snowing within a week. Harry sighed in relief as he stepped into Millie's Warming charm. They had persuaded Flitwick to teach them the third year spell after the nights started getting colder. Harry slid down next to the half-giant girl, swinging his feet over the edge of the tower – which was thankfully charmed to stop people falling off the edge. They sat silently for a while, watching the stars, as had become their routine.

"How are they?" Harry asked, finally – asking about the Slytherin girls.

"Oh fine. I think they've given up. Or I've stopped paying attention to them," replied Millie with a shrug. "Still have to listen to Pansy fawn over Nott though, it's sickening…" she continued with a grimace.

Harry smirked. Theodore Nott was a boy who resembled a rat, and had seemingly made it his mission to antagonise him. Harry disliked the boy, although had ignored him consistently since the train ride to school.

"That sounds disgusting".

"You've no idea. How's your dorm?"

"Still the same. Seamus and Dean won't shut up about sport. Pucey never says a word"

"Probably worried about being around you…" Millie replied with a shrug. Harry looked at her quizzically. "His parents were big supporters of Lestrange, both in Azkaban now," she explained, catching his confusion.

"Azkaban?" asked Harry.

"Magical prison, essentially". Harry nodded appreciated. Millie was always patient enough with his lack of magical knowledge.

"What do ya know about Simon then?" Harry was somewhat concerned – he had to share a dorm with the boy for the next seven years.

"Nothing really, but I don't think he's met his parents."

The conversation moved towards happy things as it usually did during their midnight meetings. They had originally bonded as both were orphans and both stood out a lot in public, but this barely featured in their conversations anymore. Their conversations always eventually ended as they both fell asleep on top of the tower – nobody bothered to patrol the top of the tower.

"Oww!" mumbled Harry, as Hedwig woke him by biting his ear. Absently patting the bird, he stretched his cramped muscles and made a mental note to ask Flitwick to teach him a Cushioning charm – the stone floor of the tower was uncomfortable, even within a Warming charm.

Harry shook Millie awake, and she sat up silently. Hedwig jumped onto her shoulder and nuzzled her cheek.

"Traitor…" mumbled Harry, which Hedwig replied with a sharp squawk.

The two children slowly walked down the stairs, so they could get back to their Common Rooms before anyone woke up.

"Staying for Christmas?" Millie asked, glancing at Harry.

Harry nodded. "Beats going to the Dursley's."

"I want to introduce to Hagrid over the holidays"

"The groundskeeper?" Harry questioned, slightly confused – he had had nothing to do with the oversized man – and he didn't know of any students who had.

"Yeah, he's…a friend." Millie explained. "Helped me a lot with being…ya know…me".

Harry nodded. "Sure thing." Millie was talking about the man in a tone of fondness that Harry hadn't heard her use for anyone else.

* * *

Seven hours earlier…

Aurora Sinistra walked into the Room of Requirement. She had found the room in her school-days, looking for a place to escape some of the worst of her fellow Slytherins. It was her oasis, her safe place and her training room.

The room was gloomy, and a large number of plastic humanoid figures appeared, and began to circle her.

She shot a Bone-Breaker at the practise dummy in front of her, and spun around, shooting Stunners swiftly and randomly, before nailing another dummy with a strong Reductor.

* * *

Hermione Granger sat at the end of Gryffindor table during breakfast. The girl was quite intelligent in many areas, and was trying her hardest to top her year. Since coming to Hogwarts, she hadn't really made friends, although most of the Hufflepuffs – especially Susan Bones – were rather nice to her.

On the other hand, she'd been bullied consistently by Theodore Nott and a bunch of Slytherins due to her heritage. She knew it wasn't only her – anyone with Muggle blood got the same treatment – but this only drove her to study harder.

She would show them how good a Muggleborn could be.

At the other end of the house table, Harry sat with Su, quietly (and in Su's case, silently) discussing their latest Defence assignment. Fay hadn't joined them again – she had been spending more and more time with the Weasley twins. She was with them so much that most of Gryffindor referred to her as the "third twin". Harry was somewhat disappointed by her absence – she was his first real friend. On the other hand, he had Su, and Angelina, and Millie, and couldn't be too upset.

"Tenebris really knows her stuff…" commented Harry – his admiration of his Defence Professor had steadily grown from the start of the year.

"_But she expects too much from first years" _replied Su, silently. "_This assignment is too much"._

Harry nodded, his mouth full of bacon.

_"And where were you last night?" _Harry jumped – unsure how Su knew he didn't sleep in the tower the night before. "_The Fat Lady told me…" _explained Su.

"I was seeing Millie," replied Harry, slowly.

Su nodded, but didn't answer.

* * *

At the same time - somewhere in the wilderness in Eastern Europe.

Bellatrix Lestrange awoke in her tent. As she had every day for the last ten years, she pulled out her wand, and waved it randomly.

Green and black sparks shot out of the end of her wand. She cackled, and grinned excitedly. It was the only bit of magic she had been able to perform since that night at Godric's Hollow.

True, it was the simplest piece of magic – something that all eleven year-olds can do without even trying – but it was a sign that her magic was returning to her.

For ten years, she'd been living with a group of Romani (gypsy). Travelling around Europe pretending to be a Seer to get money from Muggles. And leaving a trail of bodies behind her.

Since that night, she had killed over 400 Muggles, with her favourite knife. She'd never been caught, as she had never existed in the Muggle world, and you can't catch what doesn't exist.

But now her magic was returning. Soon, she would be able to return to the magical world and take her rightful place. Soon, she could kill the Potter child.

* * *

**A/N - so this chapter didn't have a lot of depth, I was trying to move the story closer towards the action part of the first year. The next few chapters will discuss the Christmas holidays, and there will be a lot of things going on.**


	8. Blood Magic and Holidays

"Wands away, books away," called Professor Tenebris from the front of the classroom.

The students looked at each other confused - all lessons either used their wands or their textbooks – but they obeyed the command quickly. Every first year had learnt to listen to what their Defence Professor told them to do. There was a flutter as books were returned to bags and wands returned to pockets.

Tenebris moved her wand in a circle, and all the tables flew to the edges of the room. She walked to the middle of the room and looked at the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs.

"The best way to protect yourself in a bad situation is to not get hit by spells," she began, icily. "Since none of you are able to cast even a basic shielding spell, we're going to practise dodging spells."

Without anymore warning, she shot a Stinging Hex at Neville Longbottom. The Hufflepuff boy grasped his cheek, where a large red mark was clearly visible. The Professor then spun, shooting Stinging Hexes at the students. After a few seconds, the students caught up with the lesson and began trying to get out of the way of the hexes.

Although there were twenty students in the class, the ex-Auror easily managed to keep them all on their toes, and within minutes, most people were sporting large, red blemishes.

Harry had avoided getting hit in the first few rounds, but Tenebris wasn't going let him get away unscathed. She shot a hex at his chest and he dropped to the ground to avoid it, only to be hit by another hex in the forehead. Silently cursing, he got to his feet to prepare for the next round.

* * *

50 minutes later, the group of first years limped slowly out of the Defence classroom, all covered in red welts from the Stinging Hexes. Although by the end of the lesson, most people were able to avoid them, everyone had been hit plenty of times.

"She is crazy!" exclaimed Fay, wincing as she touched a mark on her arm.

"Was a good lesson though," countered Harry.

"She hasn't realised that the war is over!" Fay was rather annoyed with the whole lesson. "She's crazy!"

Su shrugged. "_Over for now, at least"._

Harry nodded. "It'll probably be useful later on."

"Whatever," snapped Fay.

The trio made their way down to lunch, discussing the Christmas holidays which were now only a week away.

They collapsed at Gryffindor table, Harry sitting across from Angelina as he always did. She smirked at him, and poked him in a rather large sore on his arm.

"Tenebris, hey?"

"Yeah…" muttered Harry, wincing.

"Crazy bitch," commented Fay, before turning to talk to the twins.

"She does that to every class before any holiday," explained Angelina. "The woman is paranoid and thinks that everyone is going to be attacked as soon as they leave the school".

Harry nodded, before changing the subject. "You staying for Christmas?"

"Nah, going home. Christmas is really important to my mum. She'd never forgive me if I missed it. You'll have survive without me…" she finished with a rather lewd wink.

Harry shook his head defiantly, but then groaned as Angelina launched into a tirade about Gryffindor's first Quidditch match of the season, which had been the previous Saturday.

Harry hadn't gone to watch the match - preferring to practise with Aurora instead – and Angelina still hadn't forgiven him. She'd spent the last two days giving him a play-by-play description of the match, and she still hadn't finished. Harry only listened because it was good to see her invigorated again – the Quidditch win had pulled her out of her slump, and she was almost back to normal.

"And then Alicia lost the Quaffle and…" Harry was saved by the mangled form of Professor Kettleburn hovering himself towards them, and interrupting Angelina's unique form of punishment.

"Harry!" boomed the enthusiastic Professor.

"Hey Professor," responded Harry with a genuine smile.

"You're the only Gryffindor who's down for staying over the holidays…" he began.

"Really?" Harry asked, excitedly. He'd have Gryffindor tower to himself – and plenty of time to explore the castle.

"Yep. But I won't be around, so if you have any issues, you'll need to see the Headmistress," continued Professor Kettleburn. Harry raised his eyebrows, and Kettleburn answered his unspoken question happily.

"I'm hunting Quintapeds!" he explained, beaming happily.

Harry didn't know what he meant, but Angelina gasped.

"But sir….isn't that island Unplottable?

The Head of Gryffindor shrugged. "Doesn't mean I can't find them!" With that, he levitated himself away. "Oh, Mr Potter," he called, looking back. "The headmistress wants to see you sometime, when the holiday starts".

Angelina shook her head as she watched the man hover away. "No wonder he's only got one limb left. He's crazy."

"What's a Quintaped?" Harry asked – he hated not knowing as much about the magical world as most of his classmates.

"Think giant, five-legged spider. Seems to like eating people, so they made the island they live on super-hard to find".

Su nodded – she had actually stopped playing with her food when the Professor had said "Quintaped", and paid attention to the conversation – something she rarely did at mealtimes.

"Certainly crazy then," agreed Harry – figuring it was a rather shocking statement.

"I'll bet he comes back without his final arm…" commented Angelina, grinning.

Thankful that Quidditch had been forgotten, he nodded. "Probably."

* * *

Harry woke up on the first day of the holidays having slept rather badly. He was unused to an empty dormitory – growing up with the Dursleys, he'd become accustomed to tight spaces. The dormitory was usually busy and crowded, with students coming and going. Harry's friendship with the Weasley twins meant they were regular visitors, and they bought a cavalcade of students through. Now it was empty, it felt large and uninviting.

As it was Sunday, breakfast wasn't until 10, so he had three hours to kill. Deciding to visit Hedwig, he dressed and headed to the owlery

The owl landed on his shoulder and nuzzled his cheek. As he'd never needed to send a letter, Hedwig was barely used as a mail owl – only occasionally when borrowed by Su – she had become more of a pet. She visited him whenever he was on top of the AstronomyTower, which was at least twice a week, as well as visiting at breakfast to steal bacon.

He wasted the time before breakfast playing an aerial game of "fetch" with her, throwing owl treats in the air, and Hedwig would swoop down and catch them.

When ten o'clock rolled around, he sent Hedwig back to the owlrey, and went to eat. When he got to the Great Hall, he found that the House tables, as well as the Teacher's table, have vanished, and had been replaced by a large, circular table. The table was only half-full. Professors McGonagall and Tenebris were having an animated discussion over an open copy of a newspaper, next to Flitwick, who seemed to be focusing on his toast. There was also an unusual looking woman with huge glasses – whom Hary hadn't seen before. The only other teacher was Professor Sprout, who was talking with Nearly-Headless Nick and the Fat Friar. The ghost of the young woman, who had been staring at Harry during the Start-of-Term feast hovered behind them. Harry hadn't seen her much since then, but when he did, she seemed to have an unusual fascination with him.

There were a group of six Ravenclaw students, who looked like seventh year students, who were sat opposite the teachers, and had textbooks open in front of them while they were eating.

There were no other students at the table, so Harry took a seat at an empty section of a table, and began eating. A few minutes later, he was joined by Millie. The elegant half-giant slid into the chair next to him, and started serving herself bacon.

"Slytherin's empty," she informed him as a greeting.

"So's Gyffindor. And Hufflepuff by the looks of it," replied Harry, looking around the table.

"Yeah, typical Ravenclaws," commented, nodding towards the seventh years, who were still focused on their study. "Their N.E. aren't until June".

"What'dya want to do today?" Harry asked, munching on a piece of toast.

"Hagrid? He wants to meet you."

Harry nodded, and went back to his food. He wasn't particularly used to talking much during breakfast, as he and Su generally came down rather early, and they tended to eat in relative silence.

* * *

The two first years made their way down to the Groundskeeper's hut after breakfast, and Millie knocked on the door loudly. Harry heard a dog barking loudly, followed by a man with a crude accent telling the dog to calm down.

The man, Rubeus Hagrid, opened the door hastily. Millie jumped up the stairs and embraced him around the waist.

"Wasn' expectin ya for a few hours!" commented Hagrid, smiling. He then caught sight of Harry, and his look changed to surprise. "Harry Potter! Been hopin' you'd drop by."

Harry nodded shyly. Millie had told him that Hagrid had known his parents. Harry was amused at the differences between the two half-giants. Hagrid – bearded, broad and rugged – someone his aunt would describe as "uncouth". Millie – slender, elegant and rather well-dressed. None-the-less, the two appeared rather close.

They were ushered in, with Millie chatting excitedly, and Harry was assaulted by slobber – thanks to a rather large and boisterous boarhound. After the boarhound (apparently called "Fang") had been called off by Hagrid, Harry sat in a chair and examined the hut.

The Hut was warm and inviting, despite only consisting of one large room. There was a large bed in one corner, and a kitchen area along the opposite wall. Most of the rest of the hut was taken up with a large table, and many chairs – all made of comfortable leather, and three sofas. Harry was sitting in the one closest to the kitchen area, and he'd sunk so far into the cushions that he was afraid of disappearing. Hagrid was pulling various foodstuffs out of a cupboard, and Millie was making tea.

"Ya look like yeh father, Harry," commented Hagrid, bringing a plate full of small cakes to a small table in front of him, and sinking into the cushion next to him. "'cept the eyes – ya got yeh mother's eyes".

"You knew my parents?" asked Harry, quite intrigued. He'd not had many people talk about his parents, other than McGonagall, when she had explained what happened to them. He didn't know them well enough to really miss them.

"Yer. Good people. 'Specially yeh mum. Never had a bad thing to say 'bout no-one, she didn't".

Harry nodded, unsure of what to say. "Might 'ave a few pictures of 'em to give yeh," continued Hagrid with a smile. Harry returned the smile, and they were interrupted by Millie bringing a large teapot and three mugs.

The morning dissolved into conversation – which turned into a bit of a history lesson. Hagrid had fought in the First Wizarding War, alongside Harry's parents. He'd been given the post of Groundskeeper thanks to Minister Dumbledore – and Hagrid was very loyal to the Minister for Magic, as well as the Headmistress.

Hagrid was a kindly and loyal person, and evidently a thoroughly "good" person. He obviously cared for Millie, and the blonde girl obviously cared for the groundskeeper, so Harry liked the man as well. He had his heart in the right place, despite not being very subtle, and Harry found himself admiring the man and his ruthless streak.

Harry learnt that Hagrid's mother had been a giant, and his dad had been a wizard. On the other hand, Millie's father had been a giant, and her mother a pureblood witch. Harry really didn't want to imagine the dynamics of that relationship.

As Hagrid launched into a story about a Cerberus he'd purchased from a Greek man in a pub, Harry began reading a newspaper called "the Daily Prophet", which was sitting on the small coffee-table in front of him.

**Gringotts broken into!**

**Gringotts – the bank where most British wizards store their money and prized possessions – was broken into on Thursday. **

**The vault that was broken into had never, in fact, had anything put into it. Chief Goblin Argent commented that "it was one of our lowest-security vaults – it was empty".**

**Gringotts, never having a break-in of any kind before, is taking the matter very seriously. A spokesman for Gringotts re-assured the wizarding public that new security measures are being…**

"Hey Hagrid," said Harry. "Gringotts was broken into! I thought that was supposed to be impossible."

"Yeh, bit of an uproar. It was a Hogwarts vault".

"Says it was never used though"

"It was mean to hold somethin secret 'efore it was moved to Hogwarts. But the headmistress didn't want to put it in the school".

"What was it?" questioned Millie, joining the conversation.

"Can't tell yeh that. Between Professor McGonagall and Nicolas Flamel that is," replied Hagrid, guardedly.

"Nicolas Flamel, the alchemist?" Millie asked quizzically.

"Shouldn't have told yeh that," replied Hagrid worriedly. "But I don't suppose it matters".

Millie gave Harry a meaningful look, and Harry pressed the subject further. "Why doesn't it matter, Hagrid?"

"It's no' at 'ogwarts anymore. It's why I got Fluffy ta tell yeh the truth".

"Why'd you get Fluffy, Hagrid?"

"The Minister asked me ta", replied Hagrid, proudly puffing his chest out. "Till McGonagall told him she wouldn't have it".

"Hagrid…." began Millie, carefully. "What's not at Hogwarts anymore?"

Hagrid looked panicked, and quickly changed the subject.

"Harry, yeh liking Hogwarts?" Harry nodded, "Professor Sinistra seems teh like yeh. So does Professor Tenebris".

"Tenebris?" asked Harry, sceptically. He admired the scarred Professor, but she didn't seem to like him more than any other student.

"Aye. She talks about yeh quite a bit, never did that before."

Harry nodded, quietly, and ignored Millie – who was teasingly elbowing him in the ribs. Hagrid served tea and rock-cakes shortly afterwards. The tea was rather nice, but the rock-cakes were inedible. Harry abandoned his attempt to bite into one after hearing an ominous cracking sound from one of his back teeth. Millie and Hagrid had no difficult chewing the solid cakes. Harry even tried hitting one with a Cutting Curse that he'd learnt from Aurora, and it didn't appear to dent the cake at all.

* * *

Professor McGonagall sunk into a plush armchair in the corner of her office. A large black cat leapt onto the armrest, and nuzzled her shoulder. Absently, she scratched the cat behind the ears, and thought pensively about the first few months of the school year. It was the first day of the Christmas holidays, and her first chance to relax since August.

Harry Potter. She had been worried about him coming to Hogwarts, especially how the rest of the students would react – especially fearful of repercussions from students with parents who fought with Voldemort or Lestrange in the war.

However, it had been a rather quiet term – apart from a few reports from teachers about aggression from Theodore Nott and a few other first year's, he'd been left well alone. All of his teachers were impressed by him – even Professor Bryd.

Minevra had began to drift into a restless sleep, thoroughly worn out, when her fireplace flashed emerald, and the Minister for Magic stepped out. The flash from the Floo transport woke her from her stupor, but she knew who was visiting before he materialised.

Minister for Magic Albus Dumbledore was an old man, with long white hair and a long, white beard.

"Headmistress," said Dumbledore in greeting. The Hogwarts headmistress merely nodded at the elderly wizard. She'd been expecting this visit.

"How is he?" continued Dumbledore, barely noticing her response.

Minevra sighed. The man had scarcely let up since Harry Potter had returned to the Wizarding world. "He's a first-year student, Albus. A talented student, sure. But he's still a first year student. I haven't had much to with him, like every other first year".

"Does he know of the prophecy?" asked Dumbledore, hesitantly.

"Albus, would you tell him of the prophecy mere months after he found out about magic?"

"But he needs to be prepared".

"He will be. He's already being prepared for what may come. Aurora Sinistra has taken particular interest in training him".

"I would like to meet him," responded the Minister. It wasn't intended as a question.

"I don't think he'd agree to it, Albus. Most of his teachers say he tries to avoid the boy-who-lived fame. And I think he'd see this as favouritism". Minevra tried not to scowl at Dumbledore – his efforts seemed to be for good reasons, just not very well thought out.

"Well, make him see me then, Minevra – you are his headmistress!" responded Dumbledore, sounding slightly aggravated.

"You know as well as I do that I can't do that, Minister," replied Minevra – reverting to Dumbledore's title until he had calmed down. "I can only enforce issues related to his schooling. Not that I'd try to do otherwise".

Dumbledore rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "Minevra, I must have some time with the boy!"

"It won't happen until he's an adult, Albus. Even then, only if he agrees. You can't force the matter, Albus".

"It is essential.." began Dumbledore

"For nothing," finished Minvra. "If the prophecy is truly about him, it will be fulfilled without your help. If we even accept the prophecy as truth, it doesn't matter what you do".

"But…" began Dumbledore again.

"But nothing, Albus. Goodbye." Minevra finished talking and had the internal magic of Hogwarts (given to her as Headmistress) force Albus Dumbledore back into the fire, and reverse the previous Floo Travel. Minevra angrily thrust her wand at the fireplace, blocking all Floo travel temporarily.

"That man!" muttered the Headmistress, angrily, before changing to her black panther Animagus form and pacing backwards and forth. It was her favourite way of relieving stress.

* * *

Harry and Millie walked back from Hagrid's hut, chatting excitedly about what they had learnt.

"I'll bet whoever broke into Gringotts was after the Philosopher's stone!" exclaimed Millie loudly.

"The what?" Harry asked, confused. He'd known who Nicolas Flamel was (any first-year potions student should know who he was), and the Philosopher's stone sounded familiar, but he couldn't remember what it was.

"The Philosopher's stone is meant to make you immortal. It's meant to contain strong resurrection magic too," replied Millie, sounding as if she was repeating facts from a book. "Nicolas Flamel is supposed to be the only person to currently own one".

"Why would it be in Gringotts, though?"

"Well maybe it was waiting to be moved to Hogwarts?" suggested Millie. "Hagrid's always said Hogwarts was one of the safer places to hide something".

"But why would Flamel want to make it harder to find now, after so long?" asked Harry – Nicolas Flamel was supposed to be over 600 years old. Surely, he'd have adequate methods of hiding or defending the stone.

"Maybe he knows someone is after it? It would have to be someone powerful, to even attempt to break into Gringotts".

"I'll bet its Riddle," commented Harry. From what he had read, Riddle had lost his body ten years ago, but didn't die. Riddle was talented enough to break into Gringotts – at least when he was when he was powerful

"Probably," agreed Millie with a small smile. "Not many wizards could break into Gringotts, and most who could wouldn't need to bother trying".

"Where do you think the stone is now?" asked Harry, worriedly. "Hagrid said that McGonagall wouldn't have it in the school".

"I don't know. Somewhere safe; if Voldemort had the stone, we'd know it by now".

The two almost-teenagers had arrived at the Entrance Hall, and cut their conversation short as they entered the Great Hall for lunch. The circular table they had sat at for breakfast was still there, and was basically empty. Professors Tenebris, Aptet, Sprout and Flitwick were sitting around one edge of the circle, and Professor Byrd was sitting by himself on the other side of the table, muttering to himself quickly (as he often did). He was still slightly glowing a green light, but Harry could see a slight blue glow there as well. Harry assumed the potions master had been experimenting with a new potion.

The Ravenclaw seventh years were absent, as were the rest of the teaching staff, so Harry and Millie sat down with Harry next to Professor Flitwick.

"Harry!" cried the enthusiastic Professor in greeting. A few months ago, Harry would have recoiled from such an enthusiastic greeting, but a term with Professor Kettleburn, Angelina, Fay and the Weasley twins had made him almost immune to enthusiasm.

"Hey, Professor," greeted Harry, happily – ignoring Millie poking him in the ribs and smirking at him. Harry liked the half-goblin charms Professor as he was a shining example of overcoming discrimination in the best way possible.

Harry and Millie filled their plates with a delicious variety of food. Harry assumed that the castle elves provided them with nicer food over the holidays as they didn't have to provide enough food for several hundred students.

"Harry," began Professor Flitwick, once the two first years had begun to eat. "Professor Aptet and myself are very impressed with your practical class-work." Harry, unused to praise, nodded and looked at the turkey sandwich he was eating.

"Anyway," continued Flitwick, ignoring the lack of response – most Professors had come to expect it from the child – "we'd like to move you forward in class".

"Sir?" asked Harry, tentatively.

"Oh yes!" replied the diminutive Professor. "You generally succeed with a new spell right away – well ahead of your classmates!"

Harry nodded. Ever since he'd started practising with Aurora, he'd been the top of his most of his classes in all practical activities.

"It's up to you, Mr Potter," continued Professor Flitwick. "If we do this, you'll have a lot of extra theory work to do in your own time. We're only offering this because you're consistently on top of practical classes and we don't want to hold you back".

Harry paused for a minute, before responding. "Sure, Professor. It seems like a good idea". Harry had found that the theoretical classes were the most interesting classes he did, because Aurora had him casting almost all first year and second year spells without going over the theory.

"You don't have to decide now, Harry. It will be a lot of extra work, but it will help you," replied Professor Flitwick. "The headmistress approves of your work, Mr Potter".

"It's okay, Professor. I want to learn more magic," answered Harry. He was trying hard at learning more magic – it was the first thing that the Dursley's couldn't take from him. He wasn't going to let go of his gift.

"Excellent, Mr Potter – we'll talk to you before the next term starts!" exclaimed the Professor, before turning back to Professor Sprout, who was describing an amusing story in great detail. From what Harry had heard, the story involved a juvenile mandrake plant, an Irishman and a centaur, all of whom were all in a bar called "the Hog's Head" at the same time.

Harry sighed and turned back to Millie. Millie grinned at him, and gave him a rather comical look.

"Shut up," responded Harry, digging into his turkey sandwich.

* * *

After lunch, the duo were sitting in the Slytherin common room. Harry had been hesitant about entering, before Millie had pointed out that there was no rule saying that a student couldn't be in the common room of another house. The only rule was that the visiting students not create a disturbance to the other students. As Millie pointed out, she was the only Slytherin at the school, and the chances of him disturbing her were "very small indeed".

While the Slytherin common room was located in the dungeons of the castle, it was warm and inviting – it was almost identical to the Gryffindor common room, apart from the Slytherin flags and banners on the wall.

"How are things here, Millie?" asked Harry, concerned.

"Fine, Harry," replied Millie, shortly. "You know I'd tell you if something was happening".

"I know, but…"

"Relax, Harry. Between you and Flitwick helping me, I can look after myself".

Harry nodded and sunk into a sofa by the fire. Millie sat next to him, and the pair dozed off – the heavy lunch food, combined with the heat of the wood-fire had made the first-years rather sleepy. It was also the first full day off they'd had since starting Hogwarts. The two friends slept easily together, used to sleeping on each other due to their nights on the Astronomy tower.

Harry awoke from the afternoon slumber first, and relaxed – not wanting to wake up the familiar weight on his shoulder. Harry thought back to the friends he'd made over the last few months. Friends were a big deal for him; he'd never really had any due to Dudley and the Dursleys.

Su was certainly his closest friend. The two had a bond – and they essentially didn't rely on words to communicate – it was partly instinctual. Someone more accustomed with people may be rather alarmed at the rate their friendship had grown, but the two eleven-year-olds needed a close friend and wouldn't question it.

Harry then thought of Fay – the first person to befriend him. Harry couldn't think of two more different people. Him; serious and studious, and her; outgoing and mischievous. However, the pair got on well. Harry appreciated her; she gave his life a much-need laugh. Especially when she joined the Weasley twins.

Angelina was like his older sister; although the older girl had changed quite significantly during the short time he had known her, she was essentially his port of knowledge on the magical world, as well a major part of his moral compass.

The final friend he'd made was currently fast asleep on his shoulder. He and Millie were rather similar in some aspects. Although she was almost twice his height, they both had experienced isolation and abuse.

Harry looked at his watch and shook Millie awake.

"Whozair!" exclaimed Millie, glancing around for the disturbance, before settling back comfortably into his shoulder.

"We missed dinner," replied Harry simply.

Mille groaned before replying. "Do you know where the kitchens are?"

"Yeah, Fred and George showed me."

"Great. We can go there".

* * *

The duo was shortly at the picture of the fruit-bowl. Harry tickled the pear, and a handle appeared, granting them access to the kitchens.

The kitchen elves swarmed the children. After learning that they'd missed dinner, the elves provided them with more food than they could ever eat.

Harry and Millie tore into the food like only children could, delighting the elves with their enthusiasm.

Half an hour later, barely able to move, they left the kitchens, assuring the elves that they'd visit again soon.

It was past curfew, but it wasn't really enforced over the holidays, so they wandered around the corridors, chatting.

"How'd the Weasleys find the kitchens?"

"Dunno. They always seem to know everything about the castle".

"Haven't you ever asked?"

"Yeah. They say it's a trade secret".

Millie nodded. "Typical. What'd you think of Hagrid?"

"He seems nice. Can't keep secrets though".

"Yeah. What do you think about the stone?"

"I still can't see why Flamel would try and hide it somewhere new. He's meant to be more powerful than Merlin was", replied Harry.

"Yeah, he's had plenty of time to get powerful. He should be able to hide it himself".

"Well, let's just hope it's well hidden now…"

* * *

Nepal – somewhere at the bottom of the Himalayas

In an unremarkable cave stood a rather remarkable stone – the Stone of Nepa. It was one of the magical focus points. The focus points were the strongest sources of magic in the world. The magic pulsated out of the stone, never appearing to deplete or run out.

There was another in Stonehenge, England. Other magic-power sites included Uluru in Australia, inside one of the Pyramids at Giza, the Quenzalcoatl stone somewhere in South America. There was one somewhere in the Pacific islands, and another in Kenya.

Nobody quite knew where these focus points of magical power came from – but they were worshiped by ancient magical people, and many believed them to be the source of magic in the world. Some thought if a pregnant Muggle woman visited one of these sites, that child would be magical – which is how "Muggle-born" magicals are created

It was believed that magical people first came from these places – first as 'shamans' or 'healers' to primitive tribes of people, who then created tribes of magical people, which eventually led to magic tribes, which developed into modern magical society.

Others believed that wizards and witches merely drew on the power given out by these places, no matter where the magicals were in relation to the power source

Whatever they came from, and whatever they did, they were the strongest points of magical power in the world. Thus, there were thousands of different rituals conducted in these places, drawing on more magical power than any amount of magicals could produce.

Belatrix Lestrange had finished her preparations around the focus point. She was ready to conduct the Rituali Magicis Amoris. The ritual of magical love. Designed in the times where a Squib born to a magical family was generally killed after it was discovered they lacked magical power. It would prevent dishonour to the family.

It was a blood ritual based on sacrifice – the lifeblood of a lover, given at the physical point of love (orgasm) at a focus point of magic – which gave magic to the other person.

It was rarely done, even at the time, as it required the magical lover to make the ultimate sacrifice to give the other magic.

The runes were intricately and exactly carved – it had taken her two weeks to get them exactly right. In the middle of her runic circle sat a large, square stone slab. Each part of the slab slanted lightly, allowing blood to pool in the middle.

She had bought Amortentia from an elderly Greek potionmaker, who lived the life of a hermit in Tibet. This worried Belatrix – using Amortentia to create love for the ritual. Any potionmaker knows that it is impossible for a love potion to manufacture actual love. She didn't know if it would work for this ritual or not.

She had given the potion to a wizard she had met at a nearby village. The man, not being close enough to Europe to recognise her, had been easy to slip the potion to. She didn't even know his name, but he would suit her purposes.

She had led him to the cave, merely using his created love to control him. Love is, after all, the best method of controlling someone.

She led him onto the stone slab, and lay on her back in the middle of the slab. Both were naked. She held her breath, and the age-old dance began.

Belatrix calmed, forcing herself to keep her head, and maintain her cognitive processes. As the wizard became more and more excited, she began rhythmically chanting in Latin, and then in Ancient Babylonian. As her chants became more and more fevered and loud, the unnamed wizard reached the pinnacle of sexual congress.

She reached to the side of the stone slab, and grabbed a silver knife. It was curved to the extent where the tip of the blade almost touched the tip of the handle. It was solid silver, and covered in a number of runes. Goblin made.

She slit his throat, just as he began to calm down. His blood poured out – both faster than a normal wound, and more blood than would normally be produced. All of his blood was being pulled towards the wound. The blood filled the centre of the slab, covering most of her body.

The blood began to run up the sides of the slab, and filled the rune carvings surrounding it. There was a large, blinding light. It filled the cave, and forcing her to close her eyes.

Finally, there was a large explosion. Belatrix felt the full force of it against her, but it did not damage her. She gasped, and then opened her eyes.

The man had vanished, completely. The blood began to drain out of the bottom of the slab – even though there was no gap in the stone to allow drainage. She crawled out of the slab, naked and dripping with blood.

Picking up her wand, she felt the same warmth flow through her fingers – the warmth every child feels when they find the wand right for them. Casting a few simple spells, she found them to work perfectly. Grinning excitedly, the former dark lord tried to use the Cruciatus curse – even if it wasn't aimed at anyone, it took a lot of magical power.

The tip of her wand lit up, but the curse dissipated before it left her wand. She gasped, and fell onto the slab.

"Shit…" she muttered to herself. The ritual hadn't worked fully – it hadn't given her a full magical core.

She'd have to expand the rest of her core the old-fashioned way – continuously using it.


End file.
